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THE GENERAL
BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY :
CONTAINING
AN HISTORICAL AND CRITICAL ACCOUNT
OF THE
LIVES AND WRITINGS
OF THE
MOST EMINENT PERSONS
IN EVERY NATION;
PARTICULARLY THE BRITISH AND IRISH;
FROM THE EARLIEST ACCOUNTS TO THE PRESENT TIME.
A NEW EDITION,
REVISED AND ENLARGED BY
ALEXANDER CHALMERS, F. S. A.
VOL. XL
LONDONi
rniNTED FOR J. NICHOLS AND SON ; F. C. AND J. RIVINGTON ; T. rAYNK ;
OTRIDGE AND SON ; G. AND W. NICOL ; WILKIE AND ROBINSON ; S. WALKER ;
W. LEA; W. LOWNDES; WHITE, COCHRANE, AND CO.; J. DEIGHTON;
T. EGERTON ; LACKINGTON, ALLEN, AND CO.; J. CARPENTER; LONGMAN,
HURST, REES, ORME, AND BROWN; CADELL AND DAVIES ; C. LAW ; J. BOOKER ;
J. CUTHELL ; CLARKE AND SONS; J. AND A. ARCH; J. HARRIS; BLACK,
TARRY, AND CO,; J. BOOTH ; J. MAWMAN ; GALE, CURTIS, AND FENNER;
R. H. EVANS; J. HATCHARD; J. HARDING; R. BALDWIN J J. MURRAY J
i. JOHNSON AND CO. ; E. BENTLEY ; AND J. FAULDER.
1813.
A NEW AND GENERAL
BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY.
'RTCHTON (James), was a Scotch gentleman, who
lived in the sixteenth century, and has furnished a sort of
biographical romance. His endowments both of body and
mind were esteemed so great, that he obtained the appel-
lation of " The admirable Crichton,"'and by that title he
has continued to be distinguished down to the present day.
The accounts given of his abilities and attainments are
indeed so wonderful, that they se&m scarcely to be credi-
ble ; and many persons have been disposed to consider
them as almost entirely fabulous, though they have been
delivered with the utmost confidence, and without any
degree of hesitation, by various writers. The time of
Crichton's birth is said, by the generality of authors, to
have been in 1551 ; but according to lord Buchan, it ap-
pears from several circumstances, that he was born in the
month of August, 15G0. His father was Robert Crichton
of EUiock in the county of Perth, and lord advocate of
Scotland in queen IVJary's reign, from 1561 to 1573 ; part
of which time he held that office in conjunction with
Spens of Condie. The mother of James Crichton was
Ehzabeth Stuart, the only daughter of sir James Stuart of
Beath, who was a descendant of Robert duke of Albany,
the third son of king Robert H. by Elizabeth Muir, or
More, as she is commonly called. It is hence evident, that
when the admirable Crichton boasted, as he did abroad,
that he was sprung from Scottish kings, he said nothing
but what was agreeable to truth. Nevertheless, Thoihas
Dempster, who sufficiently amplifies hi« praises ia other
Vol, XL B
2 CRICHTON.
respects, passes a severe censure upon liim on this ac-
count ; which is the more remarkable, as Dempster lived
so near the time, and was well acquainted with the genea-
logies of the great families of Scotland. James Crichton
is said to have received his granmiatical edu'. atioii at Perth,
and to have studied philosophy in the university of St.
Andrew. His tutor in that university was Mr. John
Rutherford, a professor at that time famous for l^.is learn-
ing, and who distinguished himself by writing four books
on Aristotle's Logic, and a commentary on his Poetics.
But nothing, according to Mackenzie, can give us a
higher idea of Rutherford's worth and merit, than his be-
ing master of that wonder and prodigy of his age, the
great and admirable Crichton. However, it is not to this
professor alone that the honour is ascribed of having formed
so extraordinary a character. There are others who may
put in their claim to a share in the same glory ; for Aldus
Manutius, who calls Crichton first cousin to the king, says
that he was educated, along with his majesty, under Bu-
chanan, Hepburn, and Robertson, as well as Rutherford.
Indeed, whatever might be the natural force of his genius,
many masters must have been necessary, in order to his
acquiring such a variety of attainments as he is represented
to have possessed. For it is related, that he had scarcely
reached the twentieth year of his age, wheiV he had run
through the whole circle of the sciences, and could speak
and write to perfection in ten different languages. Nor
was this all ; for he had likewise improved himself to the
highest degree in riding, dancing, and singing, and in
playing upon all sorts of instruments. Crichton, being
thus accomplished, went abroad upon his travels, and is
said to have gone to Paris ; of his transactions at which
j)lace the following account is given. He caused six pla-
cards to be fixed on the gates of the schools, halls, and
colleges belonging to the university, and on the pillars
and posts before the houses of the most renowned men for
literature in the city, inviting all those who were well
versed in any art or science to dispute with him in the
college of Navarre, that day six weeks, by nine o'clock in
the morning, where he would attend tliem, and be ready
to answer to whatever should be proposed to him in any
art or science, and in any of these twelve languages, He-
brew, Syriac, Arabic, Greek, Latin, Spanish, French, Ita-
lian, English, Dutch, Flemish, and Sclavonian j and this
C R I C H T O N. $
either in verse or prose, at the discretion of the disputant.
During this whole time, instead of closel}' applying to his
studies, he regarded nothing but hunting, hawking, tilting,
vaulting, riding of a well-managed horse, tossing the pike,
handling the muscjuet, and other military feats; or else he
employed himself in domestic games, such as balls, con-
certs of music, vocal and instrumental; cards, dice, tennis,
and other diversions of youth. This conduct so provoked
the students of the university, that, beneath the placard
that was Hxed on the Navarre gate, they caused the fol-
lowing words to be written : " If you would meet with this
monster of {jerfection, to search for him either in the ta-
vern or the brothel is the readiest way to find him." Ne-
vertheless, when the day appointed arrived, Crichton ap-
peared in the college of Navarre, and acquitted himself
beyond expression in the disputation, which lasted from
nine in the morning till six at night. At length, the presi-
dent, after extolling him highly for the many rare and
excellent endowments which God and nature had bestowed
upon him, rose from his chair ; and, accompanied by four
of the most eminent professors of the university, gave hirn
a diamond ring and a purse full of gold, as a testimony of
their approbation and I'avour. The whole ended with the
repeated acclamations and huzzas of the spectators ; and
henceforward our young disputant was called " The ad-
mirable Crichton." It is added, that he was so little
fatigued with the dispute, that he went the very next day
to the Louvre, where he had a match'at tilting, an exer-
cise then in great vogue ; and, in presence of some princes
of the court of France, and a great many ladies, carried
away the ring fifteen times successively, and broke as many
lances on the Jjaracen, whatever that might be ; probably
a sort of mark.
The next account we have of Crichton is, that he went
to Rome, where he fixed a ])lacard in all the eminent
places of the city, in the following terms : " Nos Jacobus
Crichtonus, Scotus, cuicunque rei propositae ex improviso
respondebimus." In a city which abounded in wit, this
bold challenge, to answer to any question that could be
proposed to him, without his being previously advertised
of it, could not escape the ridicule of a pasquinade. It is
said, however, that being nowise discouraged, he appeared
at the time and place appointed, and that, in presence of
the pope, many cardinals, bishops, and doctors of divi-
B 2
4 CRICHTON.
nity, and pr6f6Ssors in all the sciences, he displayed such
wonderful ptoofs of his universal knowledge, that he ex-
cited no less surprise than he had done at Paris. Bocca-
lini, who was then at Rome, gives something of a different
relation of the matter. According to this author, the pas-
quinade against Crichton, which was to the following ef-
fect, " And he that will see it, let him go to the sign of
the Falcon, and it shall be shewn," made such an impres-
sion upon him, that he left a place where he had been so
grossly affronted as to be put upo-n a level with jugglers
and mountebanks. From Rome he went to Venice, at his
approach to which city he appears to have been in consi-
derable distress, of mind at least, if not with regard to
external circumstances. This is evident from the follow-
ing lines of his poem, *' In suum ad urbem Venetam ap-
pulsum :''
" Saep^ meo animo casus meditabar iniquos,
Saipe humectabam guttis stillantibus era."
The chief design of Crichton in this poem was to obtain a
favourable reception at Venice, and particularly from Al-
dus Manutius, whose praises he celebrates in very high
strains. When he presented his verses to Manutius, that
critic was strack with a very agreeable surprise ; and
judged, from the performance, that the author of it must
be a person of extraordinary genius. Upon discoursing
with the stranger, he was filled with admiration ; and,
finding him to be skilled in every subject, he introduced
him to the acquaintance of the principal men of learning
and note in Venice. Here he contracted an intimate
friendship not only with Aldus Manutius, but with Lau-
rentius Massa, Spei'o Speronius, Johannes Donatus, and
various other learned persons, to whom he presented seve-
ral poems in commendation of the city and university.
Three of Crichton's odes, one addressed to Aldus Manu-
tius, and another to Laurentius Massa, and a third to Jo-
hannes Donatus, are still preserved; but are certainly not
the productions either of an extraordinary genius, or a cor-
rect writer. At length he was introduced to the doge and
senate ; in whose presence he made a speech, whicli was
accompanied with such beauty of eloquence, and such
grace of person and manner, that he received the thanks
of that illustrious body ; and nothing was talked of through
the whole city but this rara in terris avis, this prodigy of
nAture. He held likewise disputations on the subjects of
CRICHTON. $
theolo[ry, philosophy, and mathematics, before the most
eminent professors, and large multitudes of people. His
reputation was so great, that the desire of seeing and hear-
ing him brought together a vast concourse of persons from
different quarters to Venice. It may be collected from
Manutius, that tl^e time in which Crichton exhibited these
demonstrations of his abilities, was in the year 1580.
During his residence at Venice, he fell into a bad state of
iiealth, which continued for the space of four months, and
before he was perfectly recovered, he went, by the advice
of his friends, to Padua, the university of which city was
at that time in great reputation. The day after his arrival,
there was a meeting of all the learned men of the place,
at the house of Jacobus Aloj'sius Cornelius ; when Crich-
ton opened the assembly with an extemporary poem in
praise of the city, the university, and the company who
had honoured him with their presence. After this, he dis-
puted for six hours with the most celebrated professors, on
various subjects of learning; and he exposed, in particu-
lar, the errors of Aristotle, and his commentators, with so
much solidity and acuteness, and, at the same time, with
so much modesty, that he excited universal admiration.
In conclusion, he delivered, extempore, an oration in
praise of ignorance, which was conducted with such inge-
nuity and elegance, that his hearers were astonished. This
display of Crichton's talents was on the 14th of March,
1581. Soon after, he appointed another day for disputa-
tion at the palace of the bishop of Padua ; not for the pur-
pose of affording higher proofs of his abilities, for that
could not possibly be done, but in compliance with the
earnest solicitations of some persons, who were not present
at the former assembly. However, several circumstances
occurred, which prevented this meeting from taking place.
Such is the account of ManTitius ; but Imperialis relates,
that he was informed by his father, who was present upon
the occasion, that Crichton was opposed by Archantrelus
Mercenarius, a famous philosopher, and that he acquitted
himself so well as to obtain the approbation of a very ho-
nourable company, and even of his antagonist himself.
Amidst the discourses which were occasioned by our youno-
Scotchman's exploits, and the high applauses that were
bestowed on his genius and attainments, there were somd
persons who endeavoured to detract from his merit. For
ever, therefore, to confound these invidious impugners of
6 CRICHTON.
his talents, he caused a paper to be fixed on the gates of
St. John and 8t. Paul's churches, in which he offered to
prove before the university, that the errors of Aristotle,
and of all his followers, were almost innumerable ; and that
the latter had failed, both in explaining their master's
meaning, and in treating on theological subjects. He
promised likewise to refute the dreams of certain mathe-
matical professors; to dispute in all the sciences; and to
answer to whatever should be proposed to him, or objected
aoainst him. All this he enoaj?:ed to do, either in the
common logical way, or by numbers and mathematical
figures, or in an hundred sorts of verses, at the option of
his opponents. According to Manutius, Crichton sustain-
ed this contest without fatigue, for three days; during
which time he supported his credit, and maintained his
propositions, with such spirit and energy, that, from an
unusual concourse of people, he obtained acclamations and
praises, than which none more magnificent were ever heard
by men.
The next account we have of Crichton, and which ap-
pears to have been transmitted, through sir Thomas Urqu-
hart, to later biographers, is of an extraordinary instance
of bodily courage and skill. It is said, that at Mantua
there was at this time a gladiator, who had foiled, in his
travels, the most famous fencers in Europe, and had lately
killed three persons who had entered the lists with him.
The duke of Mantua was much grieved at having granted
this man his protection, as he found it to be attended with
such fatal consequences. Crichton, being informed of his
highness's concern, offered his service, not oidy to drive
the murderer from Mantua, but from Italy, and to fight
him for fifteen hundred pistoles. Though the duke was
unwilling to expose such an accomplished gentleman to so
great a hazard, yet, relying upon the report he had heard
of his warlike achievements, he agreed to the proposal ;
and, the time and place being appointed, the whole court
attended to behold the performance. At the beginning
of the combat, Crichton stood only on his defence; while
the Italian made his attack with such eagerness and fury,
that, having over- acted himself, he began to grow weary.
Our young Scotchman now seized the opportunity of at-
facking his antagonist in return ; which he did with so
much dexterity and vigour, that he ran him through the
body in three different places, of which wounds he imme-
C R I C H T O N.
diately died. The acclamations of the spectators were
loud and extraordinary upon this occasion ; and it was
acknowledged by all of them, that they had never seen art
grace nature, or nature second the precepts of art, in so
lively a manner as thev had beheld these two thin<'^s ac-
complished on that day. To crown the glory of the action,
Crichton bestowed the prize of his victory upon the wi-
dows of the three persons who had lost their lives in fight-
ing with the gladiator. It is asserted, that, in consequence
of this, and liis other wonderful performances, the duke of
Mantua made choice of him for preceptor to his son V^in-
centio di Gonzaga, who is represented as being of a riotous
temper and a dissolute life. The appointment was highly
pleasing to the court. Crichton, to testify his gratitude to
his friends and benefactors, and to contribute to their di-
version, framed, we are told, a comedy, wherein he ex-
posed and ridiculed all the weaknesses and failures of the
several employments in which men are engaged. This
composition was regarded as one of the most ingenious
satires that was ever made upon mankind. But the most
astonishing part of the story is, that Crichton sustained
fifteen characters in the representation of his own play.
Among the rest, he acted the divine, the philosopher, the
lawyer, the mathematician, the physician, and the soldier,
with such inimitable grace, that every time he appeared
upon the stage he seemed to be a different person *.
* This may be no improper place to
give our readers a specimen of I lie style
of sir Thomas Urqiiliart, one of Crich-
ton's biographers, a style which, while
it has been censured bj' modern cri-
tics, must be allowed a very happy
imitation of the romances which turned
don Quixote's brain, and is no less
happily employed on a hero whose
exploits are ('i)ually romantic. Speak-
ing of the Gfteen characters played
by Crichton, sir Thomas says, " Sum-
moning- all his spirits together, whi -h
never failed to be ready at t!,e <'all of
so worthy a commander, he did, hy
their assistance, so cougloiTierale,
shuffle, mix, ami interlace the gestures,
inclinations, actions, and very tones of
the speech of those lifiet^n several sorts
of men whose carriages he did per-
sonate, into au inestimahle oilapodrida
©f immaterial morsels of divers kinds,
suitable to the very Arnbrosian relish
of the lieliconiaa iiymplis, that in the
peripetia of this drammatical cxercita-
tion, by the inchanted transportation
of the eyes and eares of its specta-
bundai auditorie, one would have
sworne that they all had looked with
mulliplyii)^ glasses, and that (like
that aiis;el in the Scripture, whose voice
was said to be like the voice of a mul-
titude) they heard in him alone the
promiscuous speech of fifieen several
actors ; by the various ravishmmts of
the excellencies whereof, in thefrolick-
ni'ss of i jocund straiiie hevond expec-
tation, the logofaciuaied spirit- of the
beholding hearers and aucicularie
spectators, were so on a sudden seazed
upon in their risible faculties of the
soul, and all their vital motions so
universally aflecied in this extrtmitie
of agitation, that to avoid the inevita-
ble charmes of his intoxicating ejacu-
lations, and the accumulative influ-
ences of so powerfull a transportation,
one wf my lady dutchess chief maids of
8 CRICHTON.
From being the principal actor in a comedy, Criciiton
soon became the subject of a dreadful tragedy. One night,
during the time of carnival, as he was walking along the
streets of Mantua, and playing upon his guitar, he was
attacked by half a dozen people in masks. The assailants
found that they had no ordinary person to deal with ; for
they were not able to maintain their ground against him.
In the issue, the leader of the company, being disarmed,
pulled off his mask, and begged his life, telling him that
he was the prince his pupil. Crichton immediately fell on
his knees, and expressed his concern for his mistake ; al-
leging, that what he had done was only in his own de-
fence, and that if Gonzaga had any design upon his life
he might always be master of it. Then, taking his own
sword by the point, he presented it to the prince, who
immediately received it, and was so irritated by the affront
which he thouofht he had sustained in being foiled with all
his attendants, that he instantly ran Crichton through the
heart. Various have been the conjectures concerning the
motives which could induce Vincentio di Gonzaga to be
guilty of so ungenerous and brutal an action. Some have
ascribed it to jealousy, asserting that he suspected Crich-
ton to be more in favour than himself with a lady whom he
passionately loved ; and sir Thomas Urquhart has told a
story upon this head which is extravagant and ridiculous in
the highest degree. Others, with greater probability, re-
present the whole transaction as the result of a drunken
frolic ; and it is uncertain, according to In)perialis, whether
the meeting of the prince and Crichton was by accident or
design. However, it is agreed on all hands, that Crichton
lost his life in this rencontre. The time of his decease is
honour, by tlie veheniencie of the the ineffable extasle of an overmas-
shock of those incomprehensible rap- tered apprehension, fell back in a
tnres, burst forth into a laughter, to swown, without the appearance of any
the rupture of a vcine in her body ; other life into her, then what by the
and another young lady, by the irre- most refined wits of theological specu-
sistible viiilence of the pleasure un- lators is conceived to be exerced by
awares infused, where the tender re- the purest parts of the separated en-
ceptibilitie of her loo too tickled fancie telechies of blessed saints in Iheir sub-
was least able to hold out, so unpro- liinest conversations with the celestial
videdly was surprised, that with no hierarchies : this accident procured
less impetuositie of ridihundal passion the incoming of an apolhecarie with
then (as hath been told) occasioned a restoratives, as the other did that of a
fracture in the other young ladle's surgeon, with consolidative medica-
moilestie, she, not able longer to sup- mt nts." See Sir John Hawkins's Life
port the well beloved burthen of so of Johnson, and Urquharl's Tracts,
excessive delight, and intransing joys p. 71 — 76.
oftiuch mercurial exhilarations, tbrouj^li
CRICHTON. 9
said, by the generality of his biographers, to have been in
the beginning of July 158a ; but lord Biichan, most
iikely in consequence of a more accurate inquiry, fixes it
to the same month in the preceding year. 1 here is a dif-
ference likewise with regard to the period of life at which
Crichton died. The common accounts declare that he was
killed in the thirty -second year of his age; but Jmperialis
asserts that he was only in his twenty-second when that
calamitous event took place ; and this fact is confirmed by
lord Buchan. Criehton's tragical end excited a very great
and General lamentation. If the foolish ravinsfs of sir
Thomas Urquhart are to be credited, the whole court of
Mantua went three quarters of a year into mourning for
him ; the epitaphs and elegies that were composed upon
his death, and stuck upon his hearse, would exceed, if
Ci)llected, the bulk of Homer's works ; and, for a long
time afterwards, his picture was to be seen in most of the
bed-chambers and galleries of the Italian nobilit}', repre-
senting him on horseback, with a lance in one hand and a
book in the other. From all this wonderful account we
can only infe.-, with any degree of confidence, that Crich-
ton was a youth of such lively parts as excited great pre-
sent admiration, and high expectations with regard to his
future attainments. He appears to have had a fine person,
to have been adroit in his bodily exercises, to have pos-
sessed a peculiar facility in learning languages, to have
enjoyed a rt-markably quick and retentive memory, and to
have excelled in a power of declamation, a fluency of
speech, and a readiness of reply. His knowledge likewise
was probably very uncommon for his years; and this, in
conjunction with his other qualities, enabled him to shine
in public disputation. But whether his knowledge were ac-
curate or profound, may justly be questioned; and it may
equally be doubted whether he would have arisen to any
extraordinary degree of eminence in the literary world,
which, however, his early and untimely death prevented
from being brought to the test of experiment. *
CRIGHTON, or CREIGHTON (Robert), bishop of
Bath and Wells, was born of an ancient family at Dunkeld,
in Scotland, in 1593, and was educated at Westminster
school, wiience in 1613 he was elected to Trinity college,
' Biop. Brit, principally from a MS. drawn up by the earl of Buchan.—
Miickenzie's Scots Writers, &c. &.c.
10 C R I G H T O N.
Cambridge, where he took his degrees in arts, and was
chosen Greek professor, and university orator. In 1632
he was made treasurer of the cathedral of Wells, and was
also canon residentiary, prebendary of Taunton, and had a
living in Somersetshire. In 1637 he was admitted to the
degree of D. D. and, as reported, was made dean of St.
Burian, in Cornwall, but this seems doubtful. In the
beginning of the rebellion, Dr. Crighton's loyalty en-
dangered his person and propert}', and to save the former
lie joined the king's troops at Oxford, But from this place
he was obliged afterwards to escape into Cornwall, in the
dress of a day-labourer, and contrived to go to Charles II.
abroad, who employed him as his chaplain, and bestowed
on him the deanery of Wells, of which he took possession
at the restoration. In 1670 he was promoted to the bishop-
ric of Bath and Wells, which he held until his death Nov.
21, 1672. He was accounted a man of much learning, and
in the discharge of his duty as a preacher, reproved the
vices of the court with great boldness and plainness. His
only publication was a translation from Greek into Latin, of
Sylvester Syguropolus's history of the council of Florence,
Hague, 1660, fol. which was animadverted upon by Leo
Allatius, to whom the bishop wrote an answer. Wood says
he has some sermons in print. His son, who was chanter
of Wells, published a volume of Sermons in 1720. *
CRILLON (Louis de Berthon de), of an illustrious
family of Italy, established in the comtat Venais^in, knight
of Malta, and one of the greatest generals of his age, was
born in 1541, and entered into the service in 1557. At
the age of fifteen he was at the siege of Calais, and con-
tributed greatly to the taking of that place, by a brilliant
action that brought him to the notice of Henry II. He
afterwards signalized himself aj^ainst the <Hu<)[uenots, or
protestants, at the battles of Dreux, of Jarnac, and of
Moncontour, in 1562, 1568, and 1569. The youthful hero
so greatly distinguished himself in his caravans, especially
at the battle of Lepanto in 1571, that he was made choice
of, though wounded, to carry the news of the victory to
the pope and to the king of France. We find him two
years afterwards, in 1573, at the siege of la Rochelle, and
in almost all the other considerable rencontres of that pe-
1 Wood's Fasti, vol. I. and II. — 'Salmon's Live* of the English Bishops,—
Walker's Sufferings of the Clergy. — fiarwiuk's Life, p. 400.
C R I L L O N. II
riod. He every where shewed himself worthy of the name
usually given hiiu by Henry IV. of the Brave Crillon.
Henry HI. who was well acquainted with his valour, made
him icnight of his orders in 1585. The specious pretences
of the leagne, the mask of religion which it put on, could
never shake the fidelity of the brave Crillon, however great
his antipathy to the Huguenots. He rendered important
services to his prince in the affair of the Barricades, at
Tours, and elsewhere. Henry HI. ventured to propose to
Crillon to assassinate the duke de Guise, a rebellious sub-
ject whom he was afraid to put to death by the sword of
the law. Crillon oftered to tight him ; but disdained to
hear of assassination. When Henry IV. had made the
conquest of his kingdom, Crillon was as faithful to him as
he had been to his predecessor. He repulsed the leaguers
before Boulogne. The army of Villars having invested
Villeboeuf in 1592, he vigorously defended that place,
replying to the besiegers, on their summoning the besieged
to surrender, *' Crillon is within, and the enemy without."
Henry, however, did but little for him; *' because," said
he, " I was sure of the brave Crillon; and I had to <rain
over my persecutors." The peace of Vervins having put
ail end to the wars that had troubled Europe, Crillon re-
tired to Avignon, and there died, in the exercises of piety
and penance, the 2d of December 1615, at the age of
seventy-four. Francis Bening, a Jesuit, pronounced the
discourse at his funeral : a piece of burlesque eloquence,
printed in 1616, under the title of " Boucher d'Houneur,"
the " Buckler of Honour," and reprinted not many years
since, as a specimen of ridiculous jargon, Mademoiselle
de Lusson published in 2 vols. 12mo, 1757, the life of this
hero, called by his contemporaries I'homme sans peur (the
man without fear), le brave des braves (the bravest of the
brave). This was translated into English by Miss Lomax,
of Hertfordshire, and after being revised by Richardson,
the author of Clarissa, was published at London, 1760, 2
vols. 12mo. Crillon appears to have been a second che-
valier Bayard, not on account of his fantastic and sullen
humour, but from the excellence of his heart and his at-
tachment to religion. It is well known that being present
one day at a sermon on the sufferings of Christ, when the
preacher was come to the description of the flagellation,
Crillon, seized with a sudden fit of enthusiasm, put his
hand to his sword, crying out, " Where wert thou, Cril-
12 C R I L L O N.
Ion ?" These sallies of courage, the effect of an exuberant
vivacity of temper, engaged him too frequently in duels,
in which he ahva3s came off with honour. Two instances
are recorded of an intrepidity highly characteristic of Cril-
lon. At the battle of Moncontour in 1569, a Huguenot
soldier thought to serve his party by dispatching the
bravest and most formidable of the catholic generals. In
this view he repaired to a place where Crillon, in his re-
turn from pursuing the fugitives, must necessarily pass.
The soldier no sooner perceived him than he drew the
trigger of his piece. Crillon, though severely wounded in
the arm, ran up to the assassin, laid hold on him, and was
instantly going to thrust him through with his sword, when
the soldier threw himself at his feet and begged his life.
*' I grant it thee," said Crillon ; " and if any faith could
be put in a man that is at once a rebel to his king, and an
apostate to his religion, I would put thee on thy parole
never to bear arms but in the service of thy sovereign."
The soldier, confounded at this act of magnanimity, swore
that he would for ever shake off all correspondence with
the rebels, and return to the catholic religion. — The young
duke of Guise, to whom Henry IV. had sent him at Mar-
seilles, was desirous of trying how far the fortitude of
Crillon would go. In this design he caused the alarm to
be sounded before the quarters of his brave commander,
and two horses to be led to his door. Then, running up
to his apartments, pretended that the enemy was master
of the port and town, and proposed to him to make his
escape, that he might not swell the triumph of the con-
querors. Though Crillon was hardly well awake when he
heard these tidings, he snatched up his arms without the
least trepidation, maintaining that it was better to die
sword in hand, than survive the loss of the place. Guise,
finding it impossible, by all the arguments he could use, to
alter his resolution, accompanied him out of the chamber ;
but, when they were about the middle of the stairs, he
burst out into a violent laughter, which plainly discovered
the trick to Crillon. He then put on a graver countenance
than when he thought he was going to fight ; and griping
the duke of Guise by the hand, he said, with an oath, ac-
cording to his custom, " Young man, never again amuse
thyself with putting to the test the heart of an honest man.
Par la mort ! if thou hadst found me weak, I would have
poignarded thee !" After these words he retired without
C R I L L O N. 13
saying any thing more. — We will conclude with the la-
conic billet written to him from the field of battle by Henry
IV. after the victory of Arques, where Crillon was unable
to be present : " Hang thyself, Crillon ! We have been
fighting at Arques, and thou wert not there. Adieu, brave
Crillon ! I love thee whether riti,iit or wrong."'
CRINESIUS (CHRlsTOPiiEK), a learned Bohemian,
was born at Schlackovvald, in 1584, and after receiving the
first rudiments of education at home, was sent in 1603,
fust to Jena, and afterwards to Wittemberg, where he
studied divinity, philosophy, and the learned languages,
in which last, particularly the oriental languages, he be-
came critically skilled. He also taught the oriental lan-
guages at Wittemberg, published several critical works,
which were highly esteemed, and had for his pupils many
young men v.ho were afterwards authors of great name.
His reputation extending to Austria, he was invited in
1614 to become pastor at Geschwend, where he rem.ained
five years, until he was induced to accept the pastoral of-
fice at Muhlgrub, the residence of a nobleman named
Fenzelius, who offered him the situation, with a liberal
income ; and here, probably, he would have spent his
days, had not Ferdinand II, banished all Lutheran preachers
and teachers, which obliged him to go to Ratisbon, and
afterwards to Nuremberg. He was then made professor of
divinity at Altdorff, which he enjoyed only four years,
dying there, of what his biographers call the falling sick-
ness, (comitialis morbus), Aug. 28, 1629. His principal
works are, 1. "A Dissertation on the Confusion of
Tongues." 2. " Exercitationes Hebraicae." 3. " Gym-
nasium & Lexicon Syriacum," 2 vols. 4to. 4. " Lingua
Samaritica," 4to. 5. '* Grammatica Chaldaica," 4to.
6. " De auctoritate verbi divini in Hebraico codice," Am-
sterdam, 1664, in 4to, &c.'^
CRINITUS (Peter), or more properly Peter Riccr,
an Italian scholar, whose memory Mr. Roscoe has rescued
from the misrepresentations of his biographers, was de-
scended from the noble family of the Ricci, of Floreuce,
and, when young, was instructed by, and obtained the
friendship of Politian. He afterwards became an associate
in the literary and convivial meetings at the palace of the
1 Moreri.— Diet. Hist. — Life and Heroic Actions, 1760, 2 vols. 12mo.
iJorn's £ffigtes Virorutn, voL I. — Freheri Theatnim.
14 C R I N I T U S.
Medici at Florence, and after the death of Lorenzo still
continued to enjoy the society of Picns and Politian till
the death of these distinguished scholars, in 1494. After
this it is probable that he quitted his native place, and took
an active part in the political commotions which soon oc-
curred, as he frequently refers in his writings to the la-
bours and misfortunes which he sustained, and avows his
determination to return to his literary studies. Some part
of his time he appears to have passed at Naples, and at
Ferrara. He died, according to Negri, about the close of
the fifteenth century, at the age of thirty-nine years ; but
his writings refer to many events beyond that period ; and
his dedication of his treatise " De Poetis Latinis" to Cosmo
de Pazzi, is dated in 1505, which period, it is probable,
he did not lontr survive. His death was the issue of a lon<T
sickness, on which he wrote a beautiful and pathetic Laiin
ode, from which we learn that he resigned himself to his
untimely fate, at the same time asserting his claim to the
esteem of posterity from the integrity of his life and con-
duct. The principal work of Crinifus, *' De Honesta Dis-
ciplina," as well as bis treatise on the Latin poets, before
mentioned, Paris, 1520, fol. demonstrates the extent of
his learning, and the accuracy of his critical taste. His
poetry, all of which is in the Latin language, is also en-
titled to commendation, and is frequently introduced by
Mr. Roscoe, as illustrating the public transactions of the
times in which he lived.'
CIIISPE (Sir Nicholas), an eminent and loyal citizen
in the reigns of king Charles the First, and king Charles
the Second, the son of a very eminent merchant of Lon-
don, was born in 1598, and bred, according to the custom
of those times, in a thorough knowledge of business,
though heir to a oreat estate. He made a consider-
able addition to this by marriage ; and being a man of an
enterprizing genius, ever active and solicitous about new
inventions and discoveries, was soon taken notice of at
court, was knighted, and became one of the farmers of
the king's customs. When the trade to Guinea was under
great difficulties and discouragements, he framed a project
for retrieving it, which required a large ca|)ital, but his
reputation was so great, that many rich merchants willingly
engaged with him in the prosecution of the design ; and to
* Roscoe's Leo. — Gresswell's Politian. — Moreri. — Saxii Onomasticon.
C R I S P E. 15
give a good example, as well as to shew that he meant to ad-
here to the work tliat he had once taken in hand, he caused
the castle of Cormantyn upon the Gold Coast, to be erected
at his own expence. By this judicious precaution^, and by
his wise and wary managemeiit afterwards, himself and his
associates carried their trade so successfully, as to divide
amongst them fifty thousand pounds a year. When the
rebellion began, and the king was in want of nionev, sir
Nicholas Crispe, and his partners in the farming of the
customs, upon very short warning, and when their re-
fusing it would have been esteemed a merit with the par-
liament, raised him one hundred tliousand pounds at once*.
After the war broke out, and in the midst of all the dis-
tractions with which it was attended, he continued to carry
on a trade to Holland, France, Spain,^ Italy, Norway,
INIoscovy, and Turkey, which produced to the king nearly"
one hundred thousand pounds a year, besides keeping
most of the ports open and ships in them constantly ready
for his service. All the correspondence and supplies of
arms which were procured by the queen in Holland, and
by the king's agents in Denmark, were consigned to his
care, and by his prudence and vigilance safely landed in
the north, and put into the hands of those for whom they
were intended. In the management of so many nice and
difficult affairs, he was obliged to keep up a very extensive
correspondence, for which he hardly ever made use of
* It will not, we hope, lessen the like sum. " Well," said sir Abraham,
value of the liberal ))atriotism of the " this Ihen is the wor?!: that can hap-
present race of London citizens, when pen, and 1 bless GotI, who has made
they are told, that tlieir exertions and uic able to pay my allegiance, and to
privations during the present disa^trous p:iy for it." Something of the same
war, are not without a precedent, kind was insinuated to sir John Jacob,
Tlie partners of sir Nicholas Crispe, who was not only very sincerely loyal,
mentioned above, were sir Abraham but a man of a warm temper and a
Dawes, sir John Jacob, and sir John tender heart. " What," said he iii
Wohitenliolme. When the matter was reply, " shall I keep my estate, and
proposed to sir Nicholas, he said, ''it seethe kinjr want wherewithal to pro-
was a large sum, and short warning; ; tect me in it ? If it please (lod to bless
but that Providence had made him the kln^, though I give him all I have,
able, and his duty made him willing, I shall be no loser; if not, thoug;h I
to lay down his proportion, whenever keep all I have, I shall be no saver."
his majesty called for it." Sir .\bra- Sir John Wolstenholnae, a stout and
ham Dawes had some relations, whose plain man, advanced his proportion,
affections leaned to the republican as he afterwards did larger sums, wiih-
party, and who besides had Kreat ex- out any speeches. He and sir Nicholas
pectations from him : they magnified Crispe, lived to see the restoration,
the sum that was desired, the uncer- and to be farmers of the customs again
tainty of its being repaid, and the under king Charles the Second, after
danger that it would be taken ill by they and the rest had paid deeply for
parlumeat, who nii^bt insist npon the tUis progf of iheir loyalty.
16 C R I S P E.
cypher, but penned his letters in such a peculiar style, as
removed entirely his intentions iroin the apprehension of
his enemies, and yet lelt them very intelligible unto those
with whom he transacted. He had also great address in
bringing any thing to bear that he had once contrived, to
which it contributed not a little, that in matters of secrecy
and danger he seldom trusted to any hands but his own,
and made use of all kinds of disguises. Sometimes, when
he was believed to be in one place, he was actually at ano-
ther ; letters of consequence he carried in the disguise of
a porter ; when he wanted intelligence he would be at the
water side, with a basket of flounders upon his head, and
often passed between London and Oxford in the dress of
a butter-woman on horseback, between a pair of panniers.
He was the principal author of a well-laid design for pub-
lishiiinj the king's commission of array at London, in which
there was nothing dishonourable, so far as sir Nicholas
Crispe was concerned, which, however. Clarendon inad-
vertently confounds with another design, superinduced by
Mr. Waller, of surprizing the parliament, in bringing
which to bear he proceeded very vigorously at first, till,
finding that he had engaged in a matter too big for his
management, he suddenly lost his spirits, and some of the
chief men in the house of commons gaining intelligence
that something was in agitation to their prejudice. May
31st, 1643, they presently seized Mr. Waller, and drew
from him a complete discover}^ which, from the account
they published, plainly distinguished these two projects.
By the discovery of this business, sir Nicholas Crispe
found himself obliged to declare openly the course he
meant to take ; and having at his own expence raised a
regiment of horse for the king's service, he distinguished
himself at the head of it as remarkably in his military, as
he had ever done in his civil capacity. When the siege
of Gloucester was resolved on, sir Nicholas Crispe was
charged with his regiment of horse to escort the king's
train of artillery from Oxford, which important service he
very gallantly performed ; but in the month of September
following, a very unlucky accident occurred, and though
the circumstances attending it clearly justified his conduct
to the world, yet the concern it gave him was such as he
could not shake off so long as he lived. He happened to
be quartered at Rouslidge, in Gloucestershire, where one
sir James Ennyon, bart. of Northamptonshire, and some
C R I S P E. 17
friends of his took up a great jinrt of tlic house, though
none of them iiad any commands in the army, which, how-
ever, sir Nicholas hore with the utmost patience, notwith-
standing he was much incommoded by it. Some time
after, certain horses belonging to those gentlemen were
missing, and sir James Ennyon, though he had lost none
himself, insinuating that some of sir Nicholas's troopers
must have taken them, insisted that he should immediately
draw out his regiment, that search might be made for
them. Sir Nicholas answered him with mildness, and offered
him as full satisfaction as it was in his power to give, but
excused himself from drawingr out his regiment, as a thing-
improper and inconvenient at that juncture, for reasons
which he assigned. Not content, however, sir James left
him abruptly, and presently after sent him a challenge,
accompanied with a message to this effect, that if he did
not comply with it, he would pistol him against the wall.
Upon this, sir Nicholas Crispe taking a friend of his with
him, went to the place appointed, and finding sir James
Ennyon and the person who brought him the challenge,
sir Nicholas used his utmost endeavours to pacify him; but
he l)eing determined to receive no satisfaction, unless
by the sword, they engaged, and sir James received a
wound in the rim of the belly, of which he died in two
days. Before this, however, he sent for sir Nicholas
Crispe, and was sincerely reconciled to him. Upon the
2d of October following, sir Nicholas was brought to a
court-martial for this unfortunate affair, and upon a full
examination of every thing relating to it, was most honour-
ably acquitted. He continued to serve with the same zeal
and fidelity during 1644, and in the spring following; but
when the treaty of Uxbridge commenced, the parliament
thought fit to mark him, as they afterwards did in the Isle
of Wight treaty, by insisting that he should be removed
from his majesty's presence ; and a few months after, on
April 16th, 1645, they ordered his large house in Bread-
street to be sold, which for many years belonged to his
family. Neither was this stroke of their vengeance judged
a sufficient punishment for his offences, since having re-
solved to grant the elector palatine a pension of eight
thousand pounds a year, they directed that two thousand
should be applied out of the king's revenue, and the re-
mainder ipade up out of the estates of lord Culpeper and
gir Nicholas Crispe, Sir Nicholas finding himself no longer
Vol.. XL C
18 C R I S P E.
in a capacity to render his majesty any service, thought it ex-
pedient to preserve himself ; and in April 1646 embarked
vvitli lord Cnlpeper and colonel Monk for France, but as he
liad many rich relations who had interest witlj those in power,
they interposed in his favour; and as sir Nicholas perceived
that he could he of no service to the royal cause abroad, he
did not look upon it as any deviation from his duty, to return
and live quietly at home. Accordingly, having submitted to
a composition, he came back to London, to retrieve his shat-
tered fortunes, and very soon engaged again in husiness,
with the same spirit and success as before. In this season ot
prosperity he was notfinmindful of the wants of Charles II.
but contributed cheerfully to his relief, when his affairs
seemed to be in the most desperate condition. After the
death of Oliver Cromwell, he was instrumental in recon-
ciling many to their duty, and so well were his principles
known, and so much his influence apprehended, that when
it was proposed that the royalists in and about London
should sign an instrument signifying their inclination to
preserve the public tranquillity, he was called upon, and
very rea,dily subscribed it. He was also principally con-
cerned in hringing the city of London, in her corporate
capacity,- to give the encouragement that was requisite to
leave general Monk without any difficulties or suspicion
as to the sincerity and unanimity of their inclinations. It
was therefore very natural, after reading the king's letter
and declaration in common-council, May 3d, 1660, to
think of sending some members of their own body to pre-
sent their duty to his majesty; and having appointed nine
aklennen and their recorder, they added sir Nicholas
Crispe, with several other worthy persons, to the com-
mittee, that the king might receive the more satisfaction
from their sentiments being delivered by several of those
who had suffered deeply in his own and in his father's
cause. His majesty accordingly received these gentlemen
very graciously, as a committee, and afterwards testified
to them separately the sense he had of their past services,
and upon his return, sir Nicholas Crispe and sir .John Wol-
stenholme, were re-instated as farmers of the customs.
Sir Nicholas was now in years, and somewhat infirm, spent
a great part of his time at his noble country seat near
Hammersmith, where he was in some measure the founder
of the chapel, and having an opportunity of returning the
ebligaiion he had received from some of his relations, he
C R I S P E. 19
procured for them that indemnity from the king, gratis,
for which he had so dearly paid during the rebellion. The
last testimony he received of his royal master's favour, was
his being created a baronet, April IGtli, 1665, which he
did not long survive, dying February 26th, the next year,
in the sixty-seventh year of liis age, leaving a very large
estate to his grandson, sir Nicholas Crispe. His corpse
was interred with his ancestors, in the parish church of St.
Mildred, in Bread-street, and his funeral sermon was
preached by his reverend and learned kinsman Mr, Crispe,
of Christ-church, Oxford. But his heart was sent to the
chapel at Hammersmith, where there is a short and plain
inscription upon a cenotaph erected to his memory ; or
rather upon that monument which himself erected in grate-
ful commemoration of king Charles I. as the inscription
placed there in sir Nicholas's life-time tells us, under
which, after his decease, was placed a small white marble
urn, upon a black pedestal, containing his heart.*
CRISP (ToiUAS), a puritan writer of considerable emi«
nence, the third son of Ellis Crisp, esq. an alderman, and
probably related to the family of the subject of the pre-
ceding article, was born in Bread-street, London, in 1600,
and educated at Eton-school. He afterwards went to Cam-
bridge, where he studied until he took his degree of B. A.
and was, on his removal to Oxford, " for the accomplish-
ment," says Wood, " of certain parts of learning," incor-
porated in the same degree as a member of Baliol-college,
in tlie end of Feb. 1626, and the degree was completed
by him in the act following, July 1627. In this year he
was presented to the rectory of Newington Butts, near
Southwark, but enjoyed the living only a few months,
being removed on account of a simoniacal contract. In
the same year, however, he became rector of Brinkworth,
in Wiltshire, and a few years after proceeded D. D. At
Brinkworth he was much followed for his edifying manner
of preaching, and for his great hospitality. But on the
breaking out of the rebellion, being noted among those
who were inclined to favour the republicans, he met witk
such harsh treatment from the kino-'s soldiers, as obliged
him to repair to London, where his preaching, although
at first acceptable, was soon accused of leaning to Anti-
* Eiog. Brit, — Lloyd's Memoirs. — Lysons's Environs, vol. II. wi.h a fins
portrait.
C 2
20 CRISP.
nomianisnij and involved him with many of his brethren irr
a controversy. He was baited, says Wood, by fifty-tvro
opponents, in a grand dispute concerning the freeness of
the grace of God in Jesus Christ; and by this encounter,
which was eagerly managed on his part, he contracted a
disease that brought him to his grave. This disease, com-
municated by infection, and probably nowise connected
with the eagerness of his dispute, was the small-pox, of
which lie died Feb, 27, 1642, and was buried in the family
vault in St. Mildred's, Bread-street. In his last sickness,
he avowed his firm adherence in the doctrines he had
preached. The dispute mentioned by Wood, was pro-
bably carried on in person, or in the pulpit, for we do not
find that he published any thing in his life-time ; but, after
his death, three 4to volumes of his sermons were printed
by his son, under the title of " Christ alone exalted," con-
taining in all forty-two sermons. When they appeared,
we are told, that the Westminster assembly proposed to
have them burnt ; and although we do not find that this was
done, Flavel, and other non-conformists, endeavoured to
expose the danger of some of his sentiments. Here, pro-
babh", the controversy might have rested, had not his
works been again published about the revolution, by one
of his sons, with additions. This excited a new contro-
versy, confined almost entirely to the dtssenters, but in
which some of the most eminent of that body took a part,
and carried it on with an asperity which produced consi-
derable disunion. In particular it disturbed the harmony
of the weekly lecture established at Pinners'-hall, and the
congregation mostly inclining to Dr. Crisp's sentiments,
the minority seceded, and began a weekly lecture at Sal-
ters'-hall. The principal writers in this controversy were
Williams, Edwards, Lorimer, &c. against Crisp ; and
Chauncey, Mather, Lobb, &.c. for him; and after a con-
test of seven years, they rather agreed to a suspension of
liostilities than came to a decision. The truth appears to
have been, that Crisp was extremely unguarded in many
of his expressions, but was as far as the fiercest of his an-
tagonists from intending to support any doctrine that
tended to licentiousness. A very full account of the whole
controversy may be seen in the last of our authorities.*
» Ath. Ox. vol. IT. — Lysons's Environs, vol. I.— Bogue's History of the Drs-
tenters, vol, I. p. 399.
CRISPIN. 21
CRISPIN (Gilbert), abbot of Westminster in the
iCleventli and twelfth centuries, was born in Normand}^, of
a considerable family, and educated in the monastery of
Bee, under Lan franc, afterwards archbishop of Canter-
Jburj^, who was then prior of that convent, and taught the
liberal arts with great reputation. In this seminary Cris-
pin became a monk, under Anselm, who was at that time
abbot. He was much esteemed by both these eminent
men, the former of whom, after his advancement to the
see of Canterbury, sent for him to England, and made
him abbot of St. Peter's, Westminster, and Lanfranc
parted with him reluctantly, and continued to correspond
with him as long as he lived. Crispin was abbot of West-
minster thirty-two years, during which he was sent on dif-
ferent embassies by king Henry I. Leland says, that he
was some time at Rome, probably on some ecclesiastical
errand. He died in 1117, and was buried in the south
part of the great cloisters. Leland, Bale, and Pits, who
give him the character of a very learned and pious eccle-
siastic, attribute a great many works in divinity to him, of
which we know of one only that was published, " De fide
ecclesiaj, contra Judaeos," Cologne, 1537, and Paris, 1678,
with Anselm's works. This was occasioned by a disputa-
tion which he held with a very learned Jew at Mentz,
whose arguments, with his own, he drew up in the form of
a dialogue. '
CRISPIN, or CRESPIN (John), an ingenious printer
in the sixteenth century, and a native of Arras, was ori-
giually clerk to Charles du Moulin, and admitted advocate
to the parliament of Paris; but afterwards, forming a
friendship with Beza, he embraced the reformed religion,
and retired to Geneva, where he gained great reputation
by his printing, and died of the plague, 1572. Crispiu
was author of a Greek Lexicon, Geneva, 1562, 4to, and
reprinted in folio. He also published a martyrology under
the title of " Histoire des vrais temoings de la verit^, &c,
depuivs Jean Hus, jusqu'au tems present," ibid. 1570, fol.
and reprinted in 1582, 15iJ7, and 1609. Moreri and Fop-
pen, while they allo»v Crispin's merit as a man of learning
and an useful and accurate printer, cannot forgive him for
this last publication.'^
' Loland. — Bale. — Pits. — Tanner.
'^ ,Gen. Diet.— Moieri.— Foppeii Bibl, Bel?.
22 C R I S P U S.
CRISPUS (Anthony), a divine and physician, was born
June 11, 1600, at Trapani, a town in Sicily, and received
the early part of his medical education under his father,
whom he succeeded in his practice, and became one of the
most popular physicians of his time. Some j'ears before
his deatii, which happened in 1683, he united the office of
priest to that of physician, and retired altogether from
business. Among his publications are: "In lethargum
febri supervenientem acutse, Commentarii duo," Panorini,
1668, 4to, and " De sputo sanguinis a partibus corporis
infirmis, supervenientis cum Tussi, &c." 1682, 4to, the
practice recommended in which has been very little altered
since his time. He wrote also a treatise on the cure of
infectious fever by venisection and cathartics, the mode
now recommended in the yellow fever, and another on the
most celebrated mineral waters of the island, with an ex-
amination of their constituent parts. '
CRISPUS, or CRISPO (John Baptist), an Italian di-
vine and poet, of the sixteenth century, was born at Gal-
lipoli, in the kingdom of Naples. Having entered into
the church, his merit procured him the friendship of many
of tlie most learned men of his time, and particularly of
the cardinal Jerome Seripando, to whom he was for some
time secretary ; and he was also in great request as a teacher
of jurisprudence, philosophy, and theology. He died about
15D5, at the time when pope Clement VIII. intended to
have promoted him to a bishopric. His principal work is
a piece of criticism, much admired in his time, " De
ethnicis philosophis caute legendis," Rome, 1594, folio.
Crispus's other works are two orations concerning the war
against the Turks, printed at Rome in 1594, 4to. " De
JVIedici Laudibus, Oratio ad cives suos Gallipolitanos,"
Rome, 1591, 4to. The " Life of Sannazarius," Rome,
3 583, reprinted at Naples in 1633, 8vo. A draught or
map of the city of Gallipoli, dedicated to Flaminio Carac-
cioli January the 1st, 1591. Some of his Italian poems
are in a collection published by Scipio de Monti, under
the title " Le Rime," &c. 1585, 4to. ""
CRITOPYLUS. See METROPHANES.
CROCUS, RICHARD. See CROKE.
CROESE (Gerard), a protestant divine, and author of
a "History of the Quakers," was born at Amsterdam April
* Moreri.— -llaller. — Rees's Cyclo])cctIia. 2 Gcu, Diet. — Morerj.
C R O E S E. 23
27, 1642. He was partly educated there, but principally
at Leyden, where he studied polite literature uiidor Gro-
novius and Hornius, and divinity under Cocceius and
Hoornbek. He then accompanied the son of admiral de
Ruyter to Smyrna, and on his i-eturn came to Ensflancl,
and had some intention of residing at Norwich, but pre-
ferring- his own country, he was appointed chaplain to the
garrison of Ypres, and pastor of the chmxh of Alblas near
Dort, where he died May 10, 1710. His principal wori^
was his " History of the Quakers," entitled " Historia
Quakeriana," Amst. 1695, Svo, and translated into E'.ighsh
1696. It does not appear that this history gave much sa-
tisfaction to tiie sect, and it is certainly very inferior to
that of Sewell, who furnished him with some materials, of
which, according- to Sevvell, he did not make a judicious
use. It was also answered by a quaker at Amsterdam, in a
work entitled *' Dilucidationes cjucedam value necessarioe
in Gerardi Croesii Hist." 1696, Svo. Croese's other pub-
lication, a singular mixture of misapplied learning and
fanciful criticism, is entitled '* Homerus Hebrosus, sive
Historia Hebra^orum ab Homero, Hebraicis hominibus ac
sententiis conscripta, in Odyssea et Iliade, exposita et il-
lustrata," Dort, 1704. Perizonius, and after him Saxius,
conceives that nothing can be imagined more foolish than
this book, in which probably our readers will agree, when
they are told that his object is to prove that the Odyssey
contains the history of the Jews in the patriarchal ages,
and the Iliad is an account of the siege and capture of
Jericho. Croese left also some dissertations.*
CROFT (Sir Herbert), the son of Edward Croft, esq.
of a very ancient family at Croft-castle in Herefordshire,
was educated at Christ-church, Oxford, and became a
member of parliament in the latter end of queen Elizabeth's
reign. On the accession of James 1. he wailed on him at
Theobalds, and his majesty being informed of his family
and personal merits, he was honoured with knighthood.
After he had lived fifty-two years as a protestant, he be-
came a member of the Roman catholic charch, and going
over to Doway, had an apartment in the monastery, of the
English Benedictines, and, as some say, became a lay
brother of the order. After residing here about five years
1 Moreri.— Diet. Hist.— Niceron.— Saxii Onomast,— Preface to Sewell's Hist,
of the Quakers,
2i CROFT.
he died April 10, 1622, a rare example, says his popish
hiographer, of piety and resolution. He left four sons :
William, also knii^hted and a colonel in the civil wars, who
was killed in battle in 1645 ; James and Robert, both co-
lonels; and Herbert, the subject of the following article.
He wrote, 1. "Letters persuasive to his wife and children, to
take upon them the Catholic religion," Dovvay, 1619, 12mo.
2. *' Arcfuments to show that the church in communion
with the see of Rome, is the true church ; against Dr.
Field's four books of the church," 1619. 3. " Reply to
the answer of his daughter (Mary) which she made to a
paper of his, sent to her concerning the Roman church,"
1619, 12mo, 25 5 pages. This must be a very rare book
if, according to Wood, eight copies only were printed.'
CROFT (Herbert), an eminent prelate, and third son
of the preceding, was born Oct. 18, 1603, at Great Mil-
ton near Thame, in Oxfordshire, in the house of sir W^il-
liam Green, his iTiother being then on a journey to Lon-
don. In his thirteenth year he was sent to Oxford ; but
upon his father's embracing the popish religion, and re-
moving to Dovvay, he was taken there, and after some
time sent to the English college of Jesuits at St. Omer's ;
where he was not only reconciled to the church of Rome,
but persuaded also to enter into the order. Some time
before his father's death in 1622, he was sent back into
England, to transact some family affairs ; and becoming
acquainted with Morton, bishop of Durham, he was by
him brought back to the church of Ensfland. At tlie desire
of Dr. Laud, he went a second time to Oxford, and was
admitted a student of Christ-church ; and the university
generously allowing the time he had spent abroad to be
included in his residence, he soon after took the degree of
B, D. entered into orders, and became minister of a church
in Gloucestershire, and rector of Harding in Oxfordshire.
August 1639 he was collated to a prebend in the church of
Salisbury; and the year after took the degree of D. D.
being then chaplain in ordinary to the king. The same
year he was made a prebendary of Worcester, and the
year after a canon of Windsor. In 1644 he was nominated
dean of Hereford, where he married Mrs. Anne Brown,
the daughter of his predecessor, though in constant peril
' Ath. Ox. vol. I.— Djtld's Cli. Hist.— Biog. Erit, note in art, Herbert Cto&n
^ishop.
CROFT. 25
of liis then small fortune, and sometimes of his life. He
suffered extremely for his loyalty to Charles I ; but at
length, in 1659, by the successive deaths of his two elder
brothers, became possessed of the family-estate. At the
restoration he was reinstated in his preferments ; and Dec.
2, 1661, promoted to the see of Hereford, which he never
would quit, though he was offered a better see more than
once. He became afterwards, about 1667, dean of the
•royal chapel, which he held to 1669, and then resigned it;
being weary of a court life, and finding but small effects
from his pious endeavours. He then retired to his diocese,
where he lived an example of that discipline he was strict
in recommending to others; and was much beloved for
his constant preaching, hospitable temper, and extensive
charity. He was very intent upon reforming some things
in the church, which he thought abuses, and not tendino-
to edification. He was very scrupulous in his manner of
admitting persons into orders, and more especially to the
priesthood ; and he refused to admit any prebendaries into
his cathedral church, except such as lived within his diocese,
that the duty of the church might not be neglected, and
that the addition of a prebend might be a comfortable ad-
dition to a small living. In all these resolutions, it is said,
he continued inflexible.
In the mean time, he was not so intent upon his private
concerns in his diocese, but that he shewed himself ready-
to serve the public as often as he thought it in his power.
Accordingly, in 1675, when the quarrel with the non-con-
forniists was at its height, and the breach so artfully widened
that the Roman catholics entertained hopes of entering
through it, he published a piece, entitled, " The Naked
Truth ; or, the true state of the primitive church," 4to, which
was printed at a private press, and addressed to the lords
and commons assembled in parliament. This, though no
more than a small pamphlet of four or five sheets, excited
an uncommon degree of attention, and was read and
studied by all people of sense and learning in the kingdom.
The author's design was to recommend to the legislature
measm-es for reconciling the differences among proiestants,
and for securing the church against the attempts of papists.
He begins with articles of faith ; and having shewn the
danger of imposing more than are necessary, especially as
terms of communion, he proceeds next through all the
^reat points in dispute between the church of England and
26 CROFT.
those that dissent from her: labouring to prove through-
out, that protestants dift'er about nothing that can truly be
styled essential to religion ; and that, for the sake of union,
coujpliances would be more becoming, as well as more ef-
fectual, than enforcing uniformity by penalties and perse-
cution. The whole is written with the best intentions, and
with great force of argument : nevertheless it was attacked
with great zeal by some of the clergy, particularly by Dr.
Turner, master of St, John's college in Cambridge, in his
Animadversions on a pamphlet called " The Naked Truth ;"
1676, 4to. This was answered by Andrew Marvell, in a
piece, entitled, " Mr. 8mirke, or the Divine in Mode ;"
in which after descending, as the title shows, to personal
ridicule, he says, that bishop Croft's work is a treatise,
which, " if not for its opposer, needs no commendation,
being writ with that evidence and demonstration of truth,
that all sober men cannot but oive their assent and consent
to it unasked. It is a book of that kind, that no Christian
can scarce peruse it, without wishing himself to have been
the author, and almost imagining tliat he is so : the con-
ceptions therein being of so eternal idea, that every man
finds it to be but a copy of .the original in his own mind."
Many other pamphlets were written against " The Naked
Truth ;" but the author did not vouchsafe them any reply,
and it continued for a considerable time to be read and re-
printed.
Ill is was the first thing bishop Croft published, except
two sermons : one on Isaiah xxvii. verse last, preached be-
fore the house of lords upon the fast-day, Feb. 4, 1673 ;
the other before the king at Whitehall, April 12, 1674, on
Fhilipp. i. 21. In 1678 he published a third sermon,
preached Nov. 4, at the cathedral church in Hereford, and
entitled, " A second call to a farther Humiliation." The
year after he published " A Letter written to a friend con-
cerning po|)isli idolatry :" and also a second impression,
corrected, with additions, of his " Legacy to his diocese ;
or a short determination of all controversies we have with
the jiapists by God's holy word," 4lo. Besides the epistle
to all the people within his diocese, especially those of the
city of Hereford, and a preface, this work consists of
three sermons upon John v. 39. " Search the scriptures,
for in them ye think ye have eternal life ;" and a supple-
ment, together with a tract concerning the holy sacrament
of the Lord's Supper, promised in the preface. This work
CROFT. 27
was calculated by him to preserve the people of his diocese
from the snares of popish missionaries, who were tlien
very active all over the kingdom. In 1685 he published
some animadversions on a book entitled " The Theory of
the Earth ;" and in 16S8, "A Short Discourse concerning
the reading his majesty's lute declaration in Churches,"
This, which was the last employment of his pen, was
shewn by a certain courtier to king James ; who ordered
so much of the discourse, as concerned the reading of the
declaration, to be published to the world, and the rest to
be suppressed, as being contrary to the views with which
that declaration had been set forth. It is remarkable of
this excellent prelate, that he had taken a resolution some
years before his death, of resigning his bishopric ; to which,
it seems, he was moved by some scruples of conscience.
His motives he expressed in a long letter to Dr. Stilling-
fleet ; who, however, in an answer, persuaded him to con-
tinue his episcopal charge with his usual earnestness and
vigour. He died at his palace at Hereford, May IS, ICyi,
and was buried in the cathedral there, with this short in-
scription over his grave-stone : " Depositum Herberti
Croft de Croft, episcopi Herefordensis, qui obiit IS die
Mail A. D. 1691, letatis suae SS ; in vita conjuncti :" that
is, " Here are deposited the remains of Herbert Croft of
Croft, bishop of Hereford, who died May 18, 1691, in
the 88th year of his age ; in life united." The last words,
" in life united," allude to his lying next dean Benson, at
the bottom of whose grave-stone are these, " in morte non
divisi," that is, " in death not divided :" the two grave-
stones having hands engraven on them, reaching from one
to the other, and joined together, to signify the lastin<i-
and uninterrupted friendship which subsisted "between these
two reverend dignitaries.
As bishop Croft lived, so he died, without the least
tincture of that popery which he had contracted in his
youth, as appears clearly enough from the preamble to his
will : " I do," says he, " in all humble manner most
heartily thank God, that he hath been most graciously
pleased, by the light of his most holy gospel, to recall me
from the darkness of gross errors and popish superstitions,
into which I was seduced in my younger days, and to set-
tle me again in the true ancient catholic and apostolic
tuiih, professed by our church of England, in which I was
born and baptized, and in which J joyfully die," &c. He
28 CROFT.
had one only son, Herbert, who was educated in Magda-
len college, Oxford, was created baronet by Charles II.
Nov. 1671, and was twice knight of the shire in the reign
of king William. He died 1720, and was succeeded by
his son Archer, and he by his son and namesake in 1761,
who dying in 1792, without male issue, the title descended
to the rev. Herbert Croft, a gentleman well known iu the
literary world. ^
CROFT (William), a musician, was born at Nether-
Eatington in Warwickshire, about 1657. He was educated
in the royal chapel under Dr. Blow, and became organist
at St. Anne's, Westminster. In 1700 he was admitted a
gentleman-extraordinary of the chapel royal, and in 1704
organist of the same. In 1708 he succeeded Dr. Blow as-
master of the cliildien, and composer to the chapel royal,
and also as organist at Westminster-abbey. In 1712 he
published, but without his name, " Divine Harmony, or a
new collection of select anthems ;" to which is pretixed,
*' A brief account of Church Music." In 1715 he was
created doctor in music at Oxford : his exercise for that
deg'-ee was an English and also a Latin ode, written by
Mr. (afterwards Dr.) Joseph Trapp, which, with the music,
were published with the title of " Musicus apparatus Aca-
demicus." In 1724 he published by subscription a noble
work of his own, entitled " Musica Sacra, or Select An-
thems in score," in 2 vols, the first containing the burial
service, which Purcell had begun, but lived not to com-
plete. He died Aug. 1727, of an illness occasioned by
attending upon his duty at the coronation of George II ;
and there is a monument erected for him in Westminster-
abbey, by his friend Humphrey Wyrley Birch, esq. a gen-
tleman of the bar, of a whimsical character, and extremely
fond of funeral music. The character of Croft's musical
compositions is given in our authorities.^
CKOFTON (Zachary), a non-conformist divine, of the
family of sir Edward Crofton,.was born in Ireland, and for
the most ))art had his education in Dublin. When the
Irish troubles broke out, he came over to England ; and
having but one groat in his pocket, he spent it the first
night at his quarters. His first living in the church was at
Wrenbury in Cheshire, from whence he was expelled for
' Eiog. Brit. — Ath. Ox. vo!. II. — Salmon's Lives of the Bishops,
2 Hawkins's Hist, of Music. — Burney's Hist, vol. 111.
C R O F T O N. 29
refusing to take the engagement, 1648. He then came to
London, and aftei" being for some time minister at St.
James's Garlike-liithe, obtained the living of St. Botolph's
near Aldgate, where he continued until the restoration,
when he was ejected for non-conformity. Not long after
he entered into a controversy with bishop Gauden con-
cerning the solenni league and covenant, for his defence of
which he was imprisoned in the Tower, until he was
obliged to petition for his liberty. He afterwards went
into Cheshire, where he was again imprisoned ; but ob-
taining his liberty, took a small farm, or as Calamy says,
kept a grocer's shop, for the support of his family. In
1667 he returned to London, and tanght a school near
Aldgate, where he died about 1672. He published a great
number of controversial pamphlets, and some sermons, few
of which have outlived their day. He was a man of learn-
ing, and acuteness in controversy ; but, Calamy allows, of
a warm and hasty temper.*
CROIUS, or DE CROI (John), a learned protestant
clergyman in France, in the seventeenth century, w^as born
at Usez, and being educated to the church, was appointed
pastor, first of Beziers, and afterwards of Usez. His life
appears to have been spent in the exercise of his duties as
a clergyman, and in writing on the controversies of the
times, in which he was enabled to take a distinguished
part, being a man of extensive learning, a critic, and an
able Oriental scholar. He died Aug. 31, 1659. He wrote
many controversial pieces in French, particularly a defence
of the Geneva confession of Faith, 1645, 8vo, and " Au-
gustin suppose," &c. proving that the four books on the
creed in St. Augustine's works are not the production of
that author ; but his Latin works gained him greater repu-
tation, particularly his " xSpecimen Conjecturarum in quoe-
dam Origenis, Ireneei, et Tertulliani Loca," 1632; and
*' Observationes Sacrre et Historicce in Nov. Test." chiefly
against Heinsius, 1644.^
CROIX nu Maine (Francis de Grude' la), was born
in the province of Maine in 1552. He was sieur or lord of
the manor of Croix du Maine, and of Vieille Cour, four
leagues from Mans; From his youth he had a passionate
inclination for learninor and books, and collected so lar<>-e
a library at the university in Greek and Latin authors, and
» Calamy. ' Gen. Diet. — Saxii Onomast,
30 CROIX.
most European languages, that, as he says himself, the
catalogue of them would make a volume. He began to
make this collection in his seventeenth j-ear ; and in his
thirty-second, viz. in 1584, he publi^hed his " French
Library," being a general account of all autho¥s that wrote
in that language, fol. Of this we shall take particular no*
tice under the article Verdikr. In J. 579 he addressed a
discourse to viscount de Pauliny, and speaks of a great
many works wliich he had written, none of which, however,
are known, except a small 4to, " Desseins ou projets,
&c. pour dresser une hibliotheque parlaite," Paris, 1583,
and a long Latin epitaph on the poet Monin, who was
assassinated at Paris in 1586, a fate which befell himself
at Tours in 1592. '
CROIX. See PETIS.
CROKE, or CROOK (Sir George), the third son of
sir John Croke of Buckinghamshire, was born at Chilton
in that county in 1559, and educated at the free school of
Thame, from whence, about the year 1576, he went to
Oxford, and became a commoner, or gentleman commoner,
of University college ; but before he took any degree, he
was removed to the Inner Temple, where he studied law.
Here he was autumn reader in 1599, treasurer in 1609,
and double reader in Lent 1617. In June 1623 he was
knighted and made king's serjeant; and Feb. 22, 1624,
was created one of the justices of the common-pleas, which
office he held till 1628, when, upon the death of sir John
Doderidge, he succeeded him as justice of the king's
bench. In 1636 he gained great credit by taking the pare
of Hampden in the case of ship-money, without losmg the
king's favour. Sir George had purchased an estate at
Waterstoke, in Oxfordshire, and not long before his death
he petitioned king Charles to be discharged from his of-
fice of judge on account of his age, being then upwards of
eighty years old, when his majesty was pleased, in consi-
deration of his long and faithful services, to excuse him
from any farther attendance, either on the bench or circuit,
but ordered that he should remain in office, and his salary
be continued. After this he retired to Waterstoke, where
lie died Feb. 16, 1641. Sir Georoe had another estate at
Studley, near Waterstoke, where, in 1639, he endowed
some almshouses. His epitaph at Watexstoke gives him
• Moreri.
C R O K E. 2h
a character vvliich has never been contradicted ; that he
was distinguished for acute judgment and presence of
mind ; inherited aw integrity of heart which neither threats
nor honours could seduce ; and that he noised in equal
balance the prerogative of the crown and hberties of the
people.
The " Reports" of sir George Croke have obtained the
character of great authenticity. There have been several
editions, as in 1657, 165S, 1661, all of which are called
the first edition, and are frequently v.ithout tables of the
principal matters ; there is also a very incorrect edition,
varying in the numbers from the other editions, and the
dates are printed in numerical letters MDCL. &c. An edi-
tion of 1669, which is called the second, is well printed in
3 vols, but has no references. The third, also in 3 vols,
fol. was translated and published by his son-in-law, sir
Harbottle Grimstone, in 1683 or 1685, with tables and re-
ferences. This first led the way in divesting this branch of
legal literature of the foreign idiom, and substituting the
author's native language. The fourth and last edition, in
4 vols. 8vo, 1790 — 1792, with additions and marginal
notes, and many references to later authorities, including
several from the MS notes of lord chief baron Parker, was
published by Thomas Leach, esq. There is an accurate
abridgment of Croke's Reports, three parts, Svo, by VVill.
Hughes, esq. published in 1685. Sir George Croke's ar-
guments on ship-money were published with those of sir
Richard Hutton. Lloyd, no friend to the patriots of Charles
L's time, remarks that the share in this tax for which
Hampden went to law was eighteen shillings, and that it
cost the nation eighteen millions. '
CROKE (Richard), in Latin Crocus, one of the re-
vivers of classical learning, was a native of London, edu-
cated at Eton, and admitted scholar of King's college,
Cambridge, April 4, 1506. During the time of his scho-
larship he went to Oxford, and was instructed in the Greek
lancjuaore by Grocyn. He then went to Paris and some
other parts of Europe for further improvement, and con-
tinued abroad about twelve years, supported chiefly by the
liberality of Warham, archbishop of Canterbury. During
his residence there he received a very high honour, that
' Ath. Ox. vol. II. — Ward's Gresham Professors. — Lloyd's State Wortliies.
•—Fuller's Worthies. — BriJgtnan's Legal Bibliograplij'.
32 C R O K E.
of being chosen Greek professor at Leipsic, being the first
that ever tauglit Greek in that university. Camerarius was
one of his pupils here. He resided at Leipsic from 1514
to 1517, and afterwards for some time at Louvain in the
same capacity. But as now the study of the Greek lan-
guage began to be encouraged in our own universities, and as
they could ill spare a scholar of Croke's accomplishments,
he was invited home, and in 1519, by the interest of
Fisher, bishop of Rochester, was chosen public orator, and
lecturer or teacher of Greek in that university. Here,
likewise, as well as at Leipsic, he was the first who pub-
licly and b}^ authority taught Greek, Erasmus, who pre-
ceded him, having only made some private attempts ; yet,
in some respect he may be said to have succeeded that
eminent scholar, as in his oration in praise of Greek learn-
ing, he makes honourable mention of Erasmus, and speaks
modestly of himself as unworthy to succeed him. Eras-
mus had so good an opinion of him, that knowing he was
poor, he desired dean Colet to assist him. In 1524, hav-
ing proceeded in divinity, he became doctor in that fa-
culty, and Henry VHL being informed of his abilities,
employed him as tutor to his natural son, the duke of
Kichmond. This promotion led to higher; for, being in-
troduced at court when the question respecting the king's
divorce was agitated. Dr. Croke was thought a proper per-
son to be sent abroad, in order to influence the university
of Padua to the king's side ; which he successfully accom-
plished, although the enemies of that divorce sa}', not in
the most honourable manner. From Collier we learn that
Croke owns, in a letter to his royal master, that he had
paid various sums to at least five of the members of the
universities of Padua and Bologna, in order to keep them
steady to the cause. But Burnet appears to explain this
matter more to Croke's honour.
On his return to England, the university of Oxford in-
vited him to settle there, with which he complied in 1532,
and taught Greek in Peckwater school (on the site of which
Peckwater quadrangle is built), and soon after he was
made a canon of Cardinal Wolsey's college, which he held
until 1 545, when he removed to Exeter college on a pen-
sion of 26/. 1?js. Gd. per annum, from the smallness of
which it has been inferred that he had not now the same
interest at court as formerly ; but long before this, in 1 532,
when, upon the death of dean Higden, the canons sup-
C R O K E. 33
plicato.l his majesty, through lord Cromwell, that he might
be appointed to that office, the request was denied, nor
was he afterwards made a canon of tlie college upon the
new foundation by Henry VIII. when it had the name of
the King's college. It appears by his will that he had only
the living of Long Buckby, in Northamptonshire, which
Dodd supposes was conferred upon him in queen Mary's
time. The same historian thinks that in king Edward's reign
he did not go all the lengths of the reformers, and gives
as a proof some reflections against Leland on account of
his inconstancy in religion. There can be no doubt, how--
ever, of Dr. Croke's remaining firm in the pojjish religion,
for we find him enumerated among the witnesses appointed
to discover heresy in archbishop Cranmer's writings. Dr.
Croke died at London m 1558, but where buried is not
known. His writings are, 1. " Oratio de Grcecarum disci-
plinarum laudibus," dated July 1519, and probably printed
about that time, 4to. It is dedicated to his fellow colle-
gian, Nicholas West, bishop of Ely ; and the date shows
the error of those biographers who inform us that he was
not chosen Greek professor at Cambridge until 1522. ^V'ith
this is printed " Oratio qua Cantabrigienses est hortatus,
ne GrKcarum literarum desertores essent." Before, and
at the end of these ovations, Gilbert Ducher wrote an
epistle in praise of Croke's learning. 2. " Introductiones
ad Grnecam linguam," Cologn, 1520, 4to. 3. " In Au-
sonium annotationes." 4. " Eleu^jenta Gr. Gram." 5. " De
Verborum constructione." His Letters from Italy to Hen-
ry VIII. on the subject of the divorce may be seen in Bur-
net's History of the Reformation, with a full account of his
proceedings there, which gives us no very favourable no-
tion of the liberality of his royal employer, and proves that
Collier's accusation of bribery has not much foundation.
Croke is also said to have made some translations from the
Greek of Theodore Gaza and Elysius Calentinus. Hody
says that he and Erasmus translated Gaza's Greek Gram-
mar in 1518, which may be the same mentioned above;
and we suspect that the work " De Verborum construc-
tione" is also from Gaza. Bale and Pits are seldom to
be depended on in the titles of books. The fame of Croke
has been recently revived on the continent by John Gott.
Boehmius, in his *' Specimen Literaturjc LijisiciE SiecuIo
XVI." 1761, 4to, in which he notices Croke as the reviver
of Greek literature in* that university. The same author,
Vol. XI. D
34 CROMWELL.
in his " Opiiscula Academica de Litteratura Lipsiensi,'*
has published Croke's "Encomium AcademiaeLipsiensis." *
CROMWELL (Thomas), earl of Essex, an eminent
statesman in the sixteenth century, was the son of Walter
Cromwell, a blacksmith, at Putney, near London, and in
his latter days a brewer ; after whose decease, his mother
was married to a sheerman in London. Wiiat education
he had, was in a private school : and all the learning he
attained to, was (according to the standard of those times),
only reading and writing, and a little Latin. When he
grew up, having a very great inclination for travelling, he
went into foreign countries, though at whose expence is
not known ; and by that means he had an opportunity of
seeing the world, of gaining experience, and of learning
several languages, which proved of great service to him
afterwards. Coming to Antwerp, where was then a very
considerable English factory, he was by them retained to
be their clerk, or secretary. But that office being too
great a confinement, he embraced an opportunity that of-
fered in 1310, of taking a journey to Rome*. Whilst he
remained in Italy he served for some time as a soldier
under the duke of Bourbon, and was at the sacking of
Rome : and at Bologna he assisted John Russel, esq. af-
terwards earl of Bedford, in making his escape, when he
had like to be betrayed into the hands of the French,
being secretly in those parts about our king's affairs. It i^
also much to his credit, as an early convert to the refor-
mation, that, in his journey to and from Rome, he learned
by heart Erasmus's translation of the New Testament.
After his return from his travels he was taken into the
family and service of cardinal Wolsey, who is said to have
first discovered him in France, and who made him his so-
licitor, and often employed him in business of great im-
portance. Among other things, he had the chief hand in
* This opportunity-was an accidental plish the object of tlieir journey, per-
meetins; with two persons sent from suaded hiia to go along wiihlhemi
Boston III Lincohishire, with a snmof and, besides the money, Cromwell is
muney to obtain from the pope a re- said to have so pleased the palate of
nerval of the indulgences or pardons to the pope (Julius II.) by a present of
be obtained at the gild of our lady in some dainty jellies, made in the Eng-
the church of St. JJotolph's in that lish fashion, that he granted him his
place. Cromwell met them at Ant- request ^ery readily. — Fox's Acts and
>verp, and they thinking him' better Monuments,
qualiiled than themselves to accom-
' Aih. Ox. vol. I.— Dodd's Ch. Hist.— Burnet's Hist. vol. I. p. S7.— Strype's
Cranmer, p. 'Jl'j, — Jortin's lirasmus, — Saxii Onouiast.
CROMWELL. $5
the foundation of the two colleges begun at Oxford and
Ipswich by that magnificent prelate ; and upon the car-
dinal's disgrace in 1529, he used his utmost endeavours
and interest to have him restored to the king's favour :
even when articles of high-treason against him were sent
down to the l)ouse of commons, of which Cromwell was
then a member, he defended his master with so much wit
and eloquence, that no treason cauld be laid to his charge :
which honest beginning procured Cromwell great reputa-
tion, and made his parts and abilities to be much taken
notice of. After the cardinal's household was dissolved,
Cromwell was taken into the king's service (upon the re-
commendation of sir Christopher Hales, afterwards master
of the rolls, and sir John Russel, knt. above-mentioned)
as the fittest person to manage the disputes the king then
had with the pope; though some endeavoured to hinder
his promotion, and to prejudice his majesty against him,
on account of his defacing the small monasteries that were
dissolved for endowing Wolsey's colleges. But he disco-
vering to the king some particulars that were very ac-
ceptable to him respecting the submission of the clergy to
the poj)e, in derogation of his majesty's authority, he took
him into the highest degree of favour, and soon after he
was sent to the convocation, then sifting, to acquaint the
clergy, that they were all fallen into a praemunire on the
above account, and the provinces of Canterbury and York
were glad to comprom.ise by a present to the king of above
100,000/. In 1531 he was knighted ; made master of the
king's jewel-house, with a salary of 50/. per annum ; and
constituted a privy-counsellor. The next year he was
made clerk of the Hanaper, an office of profit and repute
in chancery ; and, before the end of the same year, chan-
cellor of the exchequer, and in 1534, principal secretary
of state, and master of the rolls. About the same time
he was chosen chancellor of the university of Cambridge ;
soon after which followed a general visitation of that uni-
versity, when the several colleges delivered up their char-
ters, and other instruments, to sir Thomas Cromwell. The
year before, he assessed the fines laid upon those who having
40/. per annum estate, refused to take the order of knight-
hood. In 1535 he was appointed visitor-general of the
monasteries throughout England, in order for their sup-
pression ; and in that office is accused of having acted with,
inuch violence, although in other cases promises and pen-
D 2
36 CROMWELL.
sions were emploj'ed to obtain the compllanceof the monka
and nuns. But the mode, whatever it might be, gave sa-
tisfaction to the king and his courtiers, and Cromwell wa^^
on July 2, 1536, constituted lord keeper of the privy seal,,
when he resigned his mastership of the rolls*. On the
9th of the same month he was advanced to the dignity of
a baron of this realm, b}' the title of lord Cromwell of
Okeham in Rutlandshire ; and, six days after, took his
place in the house of lords. The pope's supremacy being
now abolished in England, lord Cromwell was made, on
the 18th of July, vicar-general, and vicegerent, over all
the spirituality, under the king, who was declared supreme
head of the church. Li that quality his lordship satin the
convocation holden this year, above the archbishops, as the
king's representative. Being- invested with such extensive
power, he employed it in discouraging popery, and pro-
moting the reformation. For that j)urpose he caused cer-
tain articles to be enjoined by the king's authority, dif-
fering in many essential points from the established system
of the Roman-catholic religion ; and in September, this
same year, he published some injunctions to the clergy,
in which they were ordered to preach up the king's supre-
macy ; not to lay out their rhetoric in extolling images,
relics, miracles, or pilgrimages, but rather to exhort their
people to serve God, and make provision for their families :
to put parents and other directors of youth in mind to
teach their children the Lord's-prayer, the Creed, and the
Ten Commandments in their mother-tongue, and to pro-
vide a Bible in Latin and English, to be laid in the
churches for every one to read at their plt^asure. He like-
wise encouraged tlie translation of the Bible into English;
and, when finished, enjoined that one of the largest vo-
lume should be provided for every parish church, at the
joint charge of the parson and parishioners. These altera-
tions, with the dissolution of the monasteries, and (not-
withstanding the immense riches gotten from thence) his
demanding at the same time for the king subsidies both
from the clergy and laity, occasioned very great murmurs
against him, and indeed with some reason. All this, how-
ever, rather served to establish him in the king's esteem,
* It would have been well for Crom- the king what he ought to do, and not
well if ho could have taken the advice what he was ahlc to <lo." Yet a iTii-
sir Thomas More gave hini, when he nister of this east would not long have
fiist came to court, namely, " to tell beea minister to Henry VIII.
CROMWELL. 87
who was as prodigal of money as he was rapacious ; and
in lo.'i? his majesty constituted iiim chief justice itinerant
of all the forests beyond Trent : and on the 26th of August,
the same year, lie was elected knight of the garter, and
dean of the cathedral church of Wells. The year follow-
ing he obtained a grant of the castle and lordship of Oke-
ham in the county of Rutland ; and was also made con-
stable of Carisbrook-castle in the Isle of Wight. In Sep-
tember he published new injunctions, directed to all bi-
shops and curates, in which he ordered that a I^ble, in
Kngiish, should be set up in some convenient place in
every church, where the parishioners might most commo-
diously resort to read the same : that the clergy should,
every Sunday and holiday, openly and plainly recite to
their parishioners, twice or thrice together, one article of
the Lord's Prayer, or Creed, in English, tiiat they might
learn the same by heart : that they should make, or cause
to be made, in their churches, one sermon every quarter
of a year at Ijeast, in which they should purely and sin-
cerely declare the very gospel ol Christ, and exhort their
hearers to the works of charity, mercy, and faith ; not to
pilgrimages, images, &c. : that they should forthwith take
down all images to which pilgrima.ges or offerings were
wont to be made : that in all such benehces upon which
they were not themselves resident, they should appoint
able curates : that they, and every parson, vicar, or cu-
rate, should for every church keep one book of register,
wherein they should write the day and year of every wed-
ding, christening, and burying, within their parish ; and
therein set every person's name that shall be so wedded,
christened, or buried, &c. Having been thus highly in-
strumental in [jromoting the reformation, and in dissolving
the monasteries, he was amply rewarded by the king in
1539, witli many noble manors and large estates that had
belonged to those dissolved houses. On the 17th of April,
the same year, he was advanced to the dignity of earl of
Essex; ami soon after constituted lord high chamberlain of
England. Tiie same day he was created earl of Essex he
procured Gregory his son to be made baron Cromwell of
Okeham. On the 1 2th of March 15 1^0, he was put in
commission, with others, to sell the abbey-lands, at twenty
years' purcliase : uhicii was a thing he had advised the
king to do, in order to stop the clamours of the people, to
attach them to his interest, and to reconcile them to the
38 CROMWELL.
dissolution of the monasteries. But as, like his old master
Wolsey, he had risen rapidly, he was now doomed, like
him, to exhibit as striking an example of the instability of
human grandeur; and an unhappy precaution to secure (as
he imagined) his greatness, proved his ruin. Observing
that some of his most inveterate enemies, particularly
Gardiner, bishop of Winchester, began to be more in
favour at court than himself, he used his utmost endeavours
to procure a marriage between king Heiu'y and Anne of
Cleves, expecting great support from a queen of his
own making; and as her friends were Lutherans, he ima-
gined it would bring down the popish party at court, and
again recover the ground he and Cranmer had now lost.
But this led immodiaiely to his destruction ; for the king,
not liking the queen, bt-gan to hate Cromwell, the great
promoter of the marriage, and soon found an opportunity
to sacrifice him ; nor was this difficult. Cromwell was
odious to all the nobility by reason of his low birth : hated
particularly by Gardiner, and the Roman catholics, for
having been so busy in the dissolution of the abbies : the
reformers themselves found he could not protect them
from persecution ; and the nation in general was highly
incensed against him for his having lately obtained a sub-
sidy of four shillings in the pound from the clerg}-, and
one tenth and one fifteenth from the laity; notwithstanding
the immense sums that had flowed into the treasury out of
the monasteries. Henry, with his usual caprice, and with-
out ever considering thut Cromwell's faults were his own,
and committed, if we may use the expression, for his own
gratification, caused him to be arrested at the council ta-
ble, by the duke of Norfolk, on the 10th of June, when he
least suspected it. Being committed to the Tower, he
wrote a letter to the king, to vindicate liimself from the
guilt of treason ; and another concerning his majesty's mar-
riage with Anne of Cleves; but we do not find that any
notice was taken of these : yet, as his enemies knew if he
were brought to the bar he would justify himself by pro-
ducing the king's orders and warrants for what he had
done, they resolved to prosecute him by attainder; and
the bill being brought into the house of lords the 17th of
June, and read the first time, on the l^th was read the
second and third times, and sent down to the commons.
Here, however, it stuck ten days, and at last a new bill of
attainder was sent up to the lords, framed in the house of
CROMWELL. 39
commons : and they sent back at the same time the bill
the lords had sent to them. The grounds of his condemna-
tion were cliierty treason and heresy; the former very
confusedly expressed. * Like other falling favourites, he
was deserted by most of his friends, except archbishop
Cranmer, who wrote to the king in his behalf with great
boldness and spirit. But the duke of Norfolk, and the
rest of the popish party, prevailed ; and, accordingly, in
pursuance of his attainder, the lord Cromwell was brought
to a scaflbld erected on Tower-hill, where, after having
made a speech, and prayed, he was beheaded, July 28,
1540. His death is solely to be attributed to the ingrati-
tude and caprice of Henry, whom he had served with great
faithfulness, courage, and resolution, in the most hazard-
ous, diilicult, and important undertakings. As for the
lord Cromwell's character, he is represented by popish
historians as a crafty, cruel, ambitious, and covetous man,
and a heretic ; but their opponents, on better grounds,
assert that he was a person of great wit, and excellent
parts, joined to extraordinary diligence and industry ; that
his apprehension was quick and clear; his judgment me-
riiodical and solid ; his memory strong and rational ; his
tongue fluent and pertinent; his presence stately and
obligi!>g; his heart large and noble; his temper patient
and cautious; his correspondence well laid ami constant;
his conversation insinuating and close : none more dex-
trous in finding out the designs of men and courts; and
none more reserved in keeping a secret. Though he was
raised from the meanest contlition to a high pitch of ho-
nour, he carried his greatness with wonderful temper;
being noted in the exercise of his places of judicature, to
have used much moderation, and in his greatest pomp to
have taken notice of, and been thankful to mean persons
of his old acquaintance. In his whole behaviour he was
courteous and affable to all ; a favourer in particular of the
poor in their suits ; and ready to relieve such as were in
danger of being oppressed by powerful adversaries ; and
so very hospitable and bountiful, that about two hundred
persons were served at the gate of his house in Throg-
* The whole charges bear marks of Cromwell, a man of very base and low
gross misrepresentation and injustice. degree, into his service, advanced iiim
It is rather singutir that the first should to the litli; of an earl, liScc." Tlie fact
have been admitted, which is a direct vva«, that every thing- Cromwell did was
reliection on the king, namely, " That by the king's authority, and too many
bis majesty having received Thomus things in servile submission to him.
40 CROMWELL.
morton -street, London, twice every day, with bread,
meat, and drink suEHcient*. He must be regarded as one
of the chief instruments in the reformation : and though
he could not prevent the promulgation, he stopped the
execution, as far as he could, of the bloody act of tlie six
articles. But when the king's command pressed him close,
he was not firm enough to refuse liis concurrence to the
condemnation and burning of John Lambert. In his do-
mestic concerns he was very regular ; calling upon his
servants yearly, to give him an account of what they had
got under liim, and what they desired of him ; warning
them to improve their opportunities, because, he said, he
was too great to stand long ; providing for them as care-
fully, as for his own son, by his purse and credit, that they
might live as handsomely when he was dead, as they did
when he was ahve. In a woiil, we are assured, that for
piety towards God, fidehty to his king, prudence in the
management of affairs, gratitude to his benefactors^ duti-
fulness, charity, and benevolence, there was not any one
then superior to him in England.
Among all the arts of expediency, says Gilpin, laid up
in the cabinets of princes, the readiest is to sacrifice a
minister. The death of Cromwell was represented to the
king as the best mean of composing the people. But
though prudential reasons may necessitate a prince to dis-
card a minister, yet guilt only, and that nicely examined,
can authorize an act of blood. The hand of a tyrant,
however, generally throws aside the balance. It is a nice
machine ; and requires pains and temper to adjust it. The
sword is an instrument more decisive; and of easier dis-
patch. Henry's v/as always stained with blood — often with
innocent blood — but never with blood more innocent than
that of Essex. '
* The possession of this house, on twrnty-two feet farther off, without
\»hich Drapers' hall now stands, has giving- the least notice. This, at least,
been ohipttcd to Cromwell, as if he says Pennant, shows what .miserable
liad paid but little regard to his neigli- tenements a certain rank of people
hour's property. Stowe mentions his had. After Cromwell's fall, his house
own father as a sufferer j for the earl ami gardens were ])urchabed by the
arbitrarily loosened from its place a Drapers' eom|)any, in whose possession
house which stood in Slow's garden, they still continue,
placed it on rollers, and had it carried
' Biog. Brit.— Strvpe's Cranmer, p. 26, 27, 33, 35, 37, 40, 45, 46, 51, 55— 5?,
73, 74, 76, 437, 438.— Strype's Memorials, vol. 1. p. 114, 144, 203, 206, 2t)7,
211, 245, 303, 307, 321, 322, 323, 325, 340, App. No. 103, p. 356, 365.— Ful-
ler's Ch. Hist. — Fox's Acts and Monuments. — Burnet's Reformation. — Herbert's
Life of Henry VHI.— iMorc's Life of sir Thomas More, p. 198, 234.— Nichols's
|Iist, of Leicestershire, vol. MI.
CROMWELL. 41
CROMWELL (Oliver), protector of the common-
%Ytaltli of Entjrlancl, and one of the most remarkable cha-
racters in English history, was descended, both by his fa-
ther and motlier, from families of great antiquity. He
was the son of Mr. Robert Cromwell, who was the second
son of sir Henry Cromwell of Hinchinbrooke, in the
county of Huntingdon, knt. whose great grandfather is
conjectured to have been Walter Cromwell, the blacksmith
at Putne}-, spoken of in the preceding article; and his
graiuimother sister to Thomas Cromwell, earl of Essex.
Yet we are told that when Goodman, bishop of Gloucester,
who turned papist, and was very desirous of making his
court to the protector, dedicated a book to him, and pre-
sented a printed paper to him, by which he pretended to
claim kindred with him, as being himself someway allied
to Thomas earl of Essex, the protector with some warmth
told him, " that lord was not related to his family in any
decree." For this story, however, told by Fuller, there
seems little foundation *. Robert Cromwell, father of the
protector, was settled at Huntingdon, and had four sons
(including the protector) and seven daughters. Though
hy the interest of his brother sir Oliver, he was put into
the commission of the peace for Huntingdonshire, he had
but a slender fortune ; most of his support arising from a
brewhouse in Huiuingdcjn, chiefly managed by his wife.
She was Elizabeth, daughter of a Stewart, of Rothseyth in
Fileshire, and sister of sir Robert Stewart, of the isle of
Ely, knt. who has been reported, and not without some
foundation of truth, to have been descended from the
royal house of Stuart ; as appears from a pedigree of her
family still in being. Out of the profits of this trade, and
her own jointure of 60/. per annum, Mrs. Cromwell pro-
* We liave not much disturbed the CiomwcU; and has still more minutely
account in our jjreceding edition, but been pursued by Mr. Gougli in the Bib-
more am{)le information respecting the liotheca Topographica Briiaunica, No.
protector's family may be found in XXXI. But for tlie most complete and
Noble's Memoirs. Some years ago, extensive intelligence, recourse must
great pains were taken to ot)tain every be bad to Mr. Noble's Metnoirs of the
possible information concerning the fa- Protectoral House of Cromwell, in
mily of Oliver Cj-omwell, ami to trace whicli will be found not only whatever
his tlesccnilauts down to the present could well be collected concerning the
time. The subject was, in part, be- posterity of the protector, but an ac-
pun by Mr. Duncombe, or rat.ber by count of all tlie families to which the
Mr. I.uson, in the appeiwiix to the se- house of Cromwell was allied, as well
cond v(jlunie of Hughes's Letters; was as of the principal persons who were
carried on by Dr. Gil)bous, at the end distinguished and employed by Oliver
pf his fuiierai Sermon for Mr. William duruig his government.
42 CROMWELL.
vided fortunes for her daughters, sufficient to marry them
into good families. The eldest, or second surviving, was
the wife of Mr. John Deshorough, afterwards one of the
protector's major-generals ; another married, first, Jloger
Whetstone, esq. and afterwards colonel John Jones, who
was executed for being one of the king's judges ; the third
espoused colonel Valentine Walton, who died in exile j
the fourth, Robina, married first Dr. Peter French, and
then Dr. John Wilkins, a man eminent in the republic of
letters, and after the restoration bishop of Chester. It
may be also added, that an aunt of the protector's married
Francis Barrington, esq. from whom descended the Bar-
ringtons of Essex ; another aunt, John Hampden, esq.
of Buckinghamshire, by whom she was mother of the fa-
mous John Hampden, who lost his life in Chalgrave field ;
a third was the wife of Mr. Whaley, and the mother of
colonel Whaley, in whose custody the king was while he
remained at Hampton-court; the fourth aunt married Mr.
Dunch.
Cromwell was born in the parish of St. John, Hunting-
don, where his father mostly lived, April 25, 1599, and
baptized 2 9th of the same month ; and educated in gram-
mar-learning at the free-school in that town, under Dr.
Beard, a severe disciplinarian. We have very different
accounts of his behaviour while he remained at school :
some say that he shewed very little propensity to learning;
others, that he made a great proficiency in it. It is very
probable that both are wrong ; and that he was not either
incorrigibly dull, or wonderfully bright ; but that he was
an unlucky boy, and of an uneasy and turbulent temper,
is reported by authors of unsuspected veracity. Many
stories are told of his enthusiasm in this early part of his life;
one of which we shall mention : lying melancholy upon his
bed, in the day-time, he fancied he saw a spectre, which
told him, that he should be the greatest man in the king-
dom. His father, being informed of this, was very angry,
and desired his master to correct him severely, which,
however, had no great effect ; for Oliver was still persuaded
of the tiling, and would sometimes mention it, notwith-
standing his uncle Stewart told him, " it was too traitorous
to repeat it." Sir Philip Warwick tells us, that he was
very well acquainted with one Dr. Simcot, Cromwell's
physician in the earlier part of his life, who assured him,
that he was a very fanciful man, and subject to great dis-
CROMWELL. 43
orders of imagination : and it is certain, that he was not
ahogcther free from these tits during his whole Hfe, not
€ven in the iieight of his prosperity.
From Huntingdon he was removed to Sidney college in
Cambridge, where he was admitted fellow-commoner,
April 23, 1616. The entry of his admission is in these
words : " Oliverus Cromwell, Huntingdonensis, admissus
ad commeatum sociorum coll. Siden. Aprilis 23, 1616;
tutore M. Ricardo Howlet." VVe have very different ac-
counts of the progress he made in iiis studies while a mem-
ber of the university. It is certain that he was acquainted
with Greek and Roman history ; but whether he acquired
this knowledge at Cambridge, is a point that may be
doubted ; since, as several writers inform us, he spent
much of his time there at foot-ball, cricket, and other ro-
bust exercises, for his skill and expertness in which he was
famous. His father dying about two years after he had
been at college, he returned home ; where the irregularity
of his conduct so disturbed his mother, that, by the ad-
vice of friends, she sent him to London, at.d placed him
in Lincoln's-inn. But here, instead of applying to the
studv of the law, he gave himself up to wine, women, and
play; so that he quickly dissipated what his father had left
him. His stay at Lincoln's-inn could not be lonsr, nor was
this season of wildness of much continuance ; for he was
married when he was twenty-one years of age, as appears
from the parish register of 8t. John, Huntingdon ; in
which we find, that his eldest son Robert, who died a child,
was born Oct. 8, 1621 ; so that if he staid but two years
at the university, and it is very probable that he did not
stay there longer, there was not above two years more for
his jroinfT to Lincoln's-inn, and runnins: throuorh the whole
circle of his follies. The lady he married was Elizabeth,
daughter of sir James Bouchier of Essex, knt. descended
from the ancient earls of Essex of that name ; whom he
gained more by the interest of his relations Hampden, Bar-
rington, Stewart, &c. than by his own. She was a woman
of spirit and parts, but had not many personal charms,
and it is said, was not without a considerable share of
pride.
Soon after, he returned to Huntingdon, where he led a
very grave and sober life. Some have imputed this very
sudden renunciation of his vices and follies, to his failing
in with the puritans ; but it is certain, that he remained
4* CROMWELL.
then, and for some time after, a eealous member of the
church of England, and entered into a close friendship
with several eminent divines. He continued at Hunting-
don till an estate of above 400/. a year, devolving to him
by the death of his uncle sir Thomas Stewart, induced him
to remove into the isle of VAy. It was about this time that
be began to fall off from the church, and to converse with
the puritans, whose notions he soon alter embraced with
his usual warmth, and with as much sincerity as could be
expected from one who was so soon to convert these no-
tions into the instruments of ambition. He was elected a
member of the third parliament of Charles I. which met
Jan. 20, 1628; and was of the committee for religion,
where he distinguished himself by his zeal against popery,
and by complaining of Neile bishop of Winchester's li-
censing books which had a dangerous tendency. After the
dissolution of that parliament, he returned into the conn-
try, where he continued to express much concern for re-
ligion, and to frequent silenced ministers, and to invite
them often to lectures and sermons at his house. By this
he brought his affairs again into a verj' indifferent situation,
so that, by way of repairing his fortune, he took a farm at
St. Ives, which he kept about five years, but which he
mismanaged, and would have been ruined if he had not
thrown it up. These disappointments revived in him a
scheme, which his bad circumstances first suiroested while
at Lincoln's-inn, of going over into New I'jigland. This
was in 1637; and his design, it is thought, had certainly
been executed, if he had not been hindered by the issuing
out a proclamation for restraining such embarkations. The
next year he had less time upon his hands ; for the earl of
Bedford, and some other persons of high rank, who had
large estates in the fen countr}', were very desirous of see-
ing it better drained ; and though one project of this sort
had failed, they set on foot another, and got it counte-
nanced by royd\ authority, and settled a share of the pro-
fits upon the crown. This, though really intended for a
public benefit, was opposed as injurious to private pro-
perty; and at the head of the opposition was Cromwell,
who had a considerable interest in those parts. The acti-
vity and vigilance which he shewed upon this occasion,
first rendered him conspicuous, and gave occasion to his
friend and relation Hampden, to recommend him after-
wards in parliament, as a person capable of contriving and
C R O ]M W E L L. 4.5
conducting great things. Notwithstandisig this, he was
not very successful in his opposition, and, as his private
all'airs were still declining, he was in a very necessitous
condition at the approach of the long parliament.
In these circumstances one might wonder, how he should
form a design, at a time when elections were considered as
things of the utmost consequence, of getting himself
chosen, niore especially for the town of Cambridge, where
he was so far from having any interest, that he was not so
much as known ; and, if he had been known, would never
have been elected. But the whole of that affair was owino-
to an accidental intrigue, in which himself had at first no
hand. One reason why he quitted Huntingdon was, a dis-
pute he had with Mr. Bernard, upon his becoming re-
corder, about precedency ; a point in which he was very
nice. After he came to Ely, he resorted entirely to non-
conformist meetings, where he quickly distinguished him-
self by his gifts, as they were styled in those days, of
preaching, praying, and expounding. At one of these
meetings he met with Richard Tims, a tradesman of Cam-
bridge, who rode every Sunday to Ely for the sake of pure
doctrine ; and captivated his heart entirely. This man,
hearing that a parliament was to be called, and being him-
self one of the common- council, took it into his head, that
there could not be a fitter man to be their burgess tliau
Mr. Cromwell; and with this notion he went to Wilclbore,
a draper in the town, and a relation of Cromwell's, who
agreed with him exactly as to the fitness of the person, but
told him the thing was impossible, as he was not a free-
man. Tims, not satisfied with that, addressed himself
next to Evett, a tallow-chandler, who was also a puritan.
He relished the thought ; but, for the same reason, pro-
nounced the design impracticable. However, Tims had
hardly left his house, before Evett sent for him back, and
whispered, that the mayor had a freedom to bestow, and
that one Kitchingman, an attorney, who had married his
wife's sister, and was of their party, had a great inHuence
over him. He advised him therefore to move Kitching-
man in it, who was to use his interest with the mayor,
statmg that Mr. Cromwell was a gentleman of fortune, and
had a mind to come and live in the town, which was then
in a poor condition ; but with a strict charge to hide tiie
true design, alderman French, who was then the mayor,
being a declared royalist. When they came to roake this
46 CROMWELL.
application to him, French said he was sorry, but that in
reality they came too late, for he had promised his free-
dom to the king's fisherman. Kitchingman easily removed
this objection, by undertaking that the town should confer
a freedom upon the person he mentioned ; and accordingly
at the next court-day, the mayor declared his intention to
bestow his freedom on a very worthy gentleman of the isle
of Ely, one Mr. Cromwell ; who, being apprized of his
friend's indastry, came to town over night, and took up
his lodgings at Almond's, a grocer. Thither the mace
was sent for him, and he came into court dressed in scarlet,
richly laced with gold ; where, having provided plenty of
claret and sweetmeats, they were so well circulated among
the corporation, that they unanimously declared Mr. Mayor's
freeman to be a civil worthy gentleman. When the elec-
tion came on, the mayor discovered his mistake ; but it
was then too late, for the party among the burgesses was
strong enough to choose him, which they accordingly did
at the. next election the ensuing year.
When he came into parliament, he was very constant in
his attendance, and a frequent speaker; though he did not
at that time discover any of the great qualities which after-
wards appeared, and which seem to have been called out
as occasion required. He affected not only plainness but
carelessness in dress, was very uniform in his conduct, and
spoke wqrmly and roundly, but without either art or elo-
cution. He was very forward in censuring what were called
grievances, both in church and state, though he had not
framed to himself any plan of reformation. This he frankly
acknowledged, with respect to ecclesiastical affairs, when
pressed by sir Thomas Chicheley and Mr. Warwick to de-
clare his sentiments on that subject. " I can tell," said
Cromwell, " what I would not have, though I cannot tell
what I would have." He was very zealous in promoting
the remonstrance, which was carried Nov. 14, 1641, and
which in reality laid the basis of the civil war; and de-
clared to lord Falkland afterwards, that if the remonstrance
had not been carried, he was resolved to have convened
the small remains of his estate into ready money the next
day, and to have quitted the kingdom upon the first op-
portunity. His firnmess upon this occasion recommended
him so effectually to Hampden, Pyni, and the rest of the
leaders on that side, that thev took him into all their coun-
cils ; where he acquired that clear insiglit into thmgs, and
C R O M W E L L. 47
knowledge of men, of which afterwards he made siicli
astonishing use. As soon as the parliament formed any
scheme of raising forces, which was in the beginning of
1642, Cromwell shewed his activity, by going immediately
to Cambridge ; where he soon raised a troop of horse, of
which himself was appointed commander. He fixed his
head quarters there, where he acted with great severity ;
towards the university especially, after he missed seizing
the plate which was contributed by the loyal colleges for the
king's service, and sent down to the king when he set up
his standard at Nottingham. It was probably about the
same time that Cromwell had a very remarkable interview
with his uncle, of which sir Philip Warwick had an account
from the old g-entleman himself. " Visiting old sir Oliver
Cromwell, his uncle and godfather, at nis house at Ram-
sey, he told me this story of his successful nephew and
godson, that he visited him with a good strong party of
horse, and that he asked him his blessing ; and that the
few hours he was there, he would not keep on his hat in
his presence ; but at the same time that he not only dis-
armed, but plundered him, for he took away all his plate."
He was more successful in his next enterprise; for being
informed that the king had appointed sir Thomas Conings-
by sheriff of Hertfordshire, and had sent him a writ, re-
quiring him to proclaim the earl of Essex and his adherents
traitors, Cromwell marched with his troop directly to St.
Alban's, where he seized sir Thomas Coningsby for that
action, and carried him prisoner to London. He received
the thanks of the parliament for this ; and we find liim soon
after at the head of 1000 horse, with the title of colonel.
Strange as it may be seem, it is conhrmed by historians on
all sides, that, though he assumed the military character
in his 43d year, in the space of a few months he not only
gained the reputation of an officer, but really became a
good one; and still stranger, that by mere dint of disci-
pline he made his new-raised men excellent soldiers, and
laid the foundation of that invincible strength, which he
afterwards exerted in behalf of the parliament.
The nature of our work will not suffer us to enter into a
detail of all Cromwell's exploits in the course of the civil
war : we must content ourselves with ujentionintj in a ne-
neral way some few memorable acts, referring our reader
to histories for more particular accounts. In the spring of
1643, having settled matters in the six associated counties
48 C R O xM W E L L.
of Essex, Hertford, Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridge, and
Huntingdon, he advanced into Lincolnshire, where he did'
great service by restraining the king's garrison at Newark,
giving a check to tlie earl of Newcastle's troops at Horn-
castie, and performing many other services, which increased
his credit with the parliament. The Scots having been
invited to England by the parliament, it was judged iiio-hly
requisite that the army under the earl of Manchester and
Cromwell, who was now declared lieutenant-general of
the horse, should join them, the better to enable them to
reduce York, which they had closely besieged. This
service was performed with great vigour and diligence,
especially by Cromwell ; for though the earl had the title,
the power was chiefly in Cromwell ; and things were so
dextrously managed between him and his friends at West-
minster, that, as they knew they might depend upon him,
they took care to put as much in his hands as they could.
In the battle of Marston-moor, fought July 3, 1644, it is
unanimously agreed, that Cromwell's cavalrv, who were
commonly styled Ironsides, changed the fortune of the
day, as that battle did of the war ; for the king's affairs
declined, and the parliament's flourished ever after.
Some, however, though they allow this readily to Crom-
well's forces, have yet represented him as acting in a piti-
ful cowardly manner, and so terrified, as even to run
away : but allowance must be made for the relators. It is
certain, that on the 19th of the same month he stormed
the earl of Exeter's fine house at Burleigh ; and no man's
courage, conduct, and services, were more valued at Lon-
don. He was also in the second battle at Newbury, Sept.
17, in the same year, and is said to have made so bold a
charge with his horse upon the guards, that his majesty's
person had been in the utmost danger, if the old earl of
Cleveland had not come in to his relief, and preserved his
master's liberty at the expence of his own. Aud in the
winter, when the disputes in parliament ran higher than
ever, nothing but Cromwell's merit and good fortune were
talked of by his party ; some of whom even styled him the
saviour of the nation.
The wisest men and the best patriots saw very clearly
whither these excessive praises tended. That the nation
might be made as fully convinced of it, the earl of Man-
chester exhibited a charfje asjainst him in the house of
lords; ai:d Cromwell, in return, brought another against
C R O M WELL. 49
the noble peer in the house of commons. It is true, that
neither of these charges was prosecuted ; but it is equally
true, that Cromwell and his friends absolutely carried their
point, by bringing in what was called the self-denying or-
dinance, which excluded the members of either house
from having any commands in the army ; from which,
however, on account of his extraordinary merit, which
set him above all ordinances, Cromwell was at first occa-
sionally, and at length a'together exempted. From being
lieutenant-general of the horse, he became lieutenant-ge-
neral of the army ; and he procured an address from hi*
regiment, declaring their satisfaction with the change. He
continued to distinguish himself by his military successes,
and to receive the thanks of both houses for the services
he did. He shone particularly at the battle of Naseby,
June 14, 1C46, and had also his share in reducing the
westj till, upon the surrender of Exeter, April 13, 1645,
he found leisure to return to London. Upon taking his
seat in the house, thanks were returned him, in terms as
strong as words could express ; and the prevailing party
•there received from him such encouragement, as induced
them to believe he was wholly at their devotion. But in
this they were mistaken ; for while they thought the lieu-
tenant-general employed in their business, he was in
reality only attentive to his own. Thus, when the parlia-
ment inclined to disband a part of their forces, after the
king had delivered himself to the Scots and the Scots
had agreed to deliver him to the parliament, Crom-
well opposed it vigorously, if not openly. For, in the first
place, he insinuated by his emissaries to the soldiers, that
this was not only the highest piece of ingratitude towards
those who had fought the parliament into a power of dis-
banding them, but also a crying act of injustice, as it was
done with no other view than to cheat them of their ar-
rears. Secondly, he procured an exemption for sir Tho-
mas Fairfax's army, or, in other words, for his own, th^
general only having that title and appointments, while
Cromwell had the power ; and the weight of the reduction
fell upon Massey's brigade in the west, together with the
troops which colonel Poyntz commanded in Yorkshire ;
men of whom he had good reason to doubt, but upon whotn
the parliament might have depended. Thus he dextrously
turned to his own advantage the means which, in truth,
were contrived for his destruction.
Vol. XI. E
50 CROMWELL.
Nov. 12, 1646, the army marched triumphantly through
London ; and in February following, tiie Scots liaving re-
ceived the money agreed on, delivered up the king, who
was carried prisoner to Holmby. At this time Cromwell
had a most difficalt part to play. What wore the legal
appearance of power was evidently in the hands of the par-
liament, in which the presbyterian party was still prevalent;
and as the general sir Thomas Fairfax was likewise in that
interest, the real power seemed also to be on their side.
At bottom, however, the army, now taught to know their
ftvvn strength, were in reality the masters ; and they were
entirely directed by Cromwell, though they knew it not
themselves. He saw the necessity of having a strong place,
and getting the king's person into their power ; and he
contrived to do both, without seeming to have a hand in
either. Oxford was at that time in a good condition, and
well supplied with artillery, upon which the army seized
it, with the magazines, and every thing else ; and Crom-
well, then at London, prevailed upon cornet Joyce to
seize the king's person with a strong detachment of horse,
not only without the general's orders, but without any
orders at all, except those verbal instructions from Crom-
well. This was executed June 4, 1647, notwithstanding
the parliament's commissioners were then with the king ;
who was conducted from Holmby to Childersly, in Cam-
bridgeshire, then the army's head quarters. Here, through
themanagementchiefly of Cromwell and his son-in-law com-
missary Ireton, the king was treated, not only with reverence,
but with kindness ; and when sir Thomas Fairfax, who
knew nothing of the taking of the king away, and disliked
it, would have sent him back again with the commissioners,
under the guard of two regiments of horse, the king abso-
lutely refused to move. Nay, to such a degree was that
monarch convinced of the sincerity of his new friends, that
he had the indiscretion to tell sir Thomas Fairfax, when
he made him a tender of his duty and respect, with pro-
mises of fair treatment, that " he thought he had as good
an interest in the army as himself."
The remaining six months of this year were the most
criticalof Crouivvell's whole life; for in order to succeed
in his schemes, it was absolutely necessary for him to de-
ceive the king, the parliumont, and the army, which in
turn was effected, though not uitliout danger and diffi-
culty. The king relied entirely uj)<.)ii Cromwell and Ire-
CROMWELL. 51
ton ; and tliey, on the other hand, spoke of and acted
towards him in such a manner, that they were looked upon
as absolute courtiers. Nor is it at all wonderful that the
king gave credit to them, when they prevailed on the
army to send a letter to the parliament, delivered July 9,
1647, avowing the king's cause to be theirs, and that no
settlement could be hoped for, without granting him his
just rights. As to the parliament, so long as they enjoj'ed
their power, Cromwell always spoke the language of a
member of the house of commons : siiewed a liiiih regard
tor their privileges ; and professed, that he was suspected
and disliked by the army, for his attachment to the civil
government. This did not, however, hinder his being
disbelieved by many, till at length he found it necessary
for his own safety to make his escape from the house with
some precipitation. That mutinous spirit which the sol-
diers discovered against the parliament, was raised, fo-
mented, and managed by Cromwell and Ireton ; the
former declaring at Triploe-heath, when the parliament
had been obliged to erase their own declaration out of
their journals, that *' now they might be an army as long
as they lived."
Soon after this, a new party sprung up among the sol-
diers, under the title of Levellers, who made no secret of
their hating equally both king and parliament; and it was
to save himself from these people, who, as he was in-
formed by Cromwell, sought his life, that the king, Nov. 11,
fled from Hampton-court to the Isle of Wight, after having
rejected the parliament's proposals by Cromwell's and
Ireton's advice. Immediately after this, Cromwell altered
his behaviour to the king entirely ; for, having made use
of the king's presence to manage the arm}', and of the
power which the army had thereby acquired, to humble
and debase the parliament, there remained no end to be
answered by keeping measures any longer with the king.
The parliament, now much altered from what it was, upon
the king's refusing to pass four bills they had sent him,
fell into very warm debates ; in which it is asserted that
Cromwell was a principal speaker, and inveighed bitterly
against his majesty, saying, " the king was a very able
man, but withal a great dissembler ; one in whom no trust
could be reposed, and with whom, therefore, they ought
to have nothing to do for the future." However this might
be, the parliament, Jan, 5, voted that no more addresses
£ 2
52 C R O M W ELL.
should be made to the king ; and from that time he was
more strictly imprisoned than ever. In the mean time,
there were risings in several parts of the kingdom ; which
employing the military power, the city of London and the
parliament were left in some measure at liberty to pursue
their own sentiments ; and what these were, quickly ap-
peared ; for on June 27, 1648, the city petitioned for a
personal treaty with the king, which was very well re-
ceived, and some steps taken to advance it. A few days
after, the commons recalled their vote for n on -addresses,
began a personal treaty with the king at the Isle of Wight,
and at length voted his majesty's concessions satisfactory,
and an attempt was even made to impeach Cromwell of
high treason. But the army having now reduced all oppo-
sition, and returning towards London, Nov.' 20, sent a
remonstrance to the house of conmions, disapproving all
they had done. The remonstrance was carried by colonel
Ewers, who went next into the isle of Wight, where he
seized the person of the king, and carried him to Hurst
castle. This was resented by the parliament, who com-
manded the general to recall his orders ; but instead of
this, the army marched directly to* London, and in De-
cember, took possession of it; purged, as they called it,
the house of commons, turning out the greater part of its
members, and then forcing the rest to do what they pleased.
In most of these proceedings Cromwell appeared very
active, and is, with good reason, believed to have directed
them all.
It is not necessary to dwell particularly upon those w^ell-
known circumstances relating to the king's being brought
before the high court of justice, and to the sentence of
death passed upon him there ; since the part Cromwell
acted therein w-as of)eii and public. He sat at the court ;
he signed the warrant; and he prosecuted the accomplish-
ment of it by the bloody execution of the king. When
the first proposition was made in the house of commons
for trying the king, he rose up, and said, that " if any
man moved this upon design, he should think him the
greatest traitor in the world ; but since Providence and ne-
cessity had cast them upon it, he should pray God to bless
their councils, though he was not provided on the sudden
to give them counsel." But not long after, he was ; for,
being a great pretender to enthusiasm raid revelations, he
told then\ with consummate hypocrisy, that as he was
CROMWELL. 58
praying for a blessing from God on his undertaking to re-
store tlie king to his pristine majesty, his tongue cleaved
to the roof of his mouth, that he could not speak one word
more ; which he took as a return of prayer, that God had
rejected him from being king. Many applications were
made to Cromwell for saving the king's life ; and some of
the passages relating to them are worth notice. One of
the most remarkable, which greatly illustrates the character
of the man, is the transaction between the lieutenant-
general and a cousin of his, colonel John Cromwell, an
officer in the service of the States. This gentleman is said
to have been in England while the king was in the hands
of the army ; and tiiat, in a conference he had with the
lieutenant-general, the latter made use of this expression,
" 1 think the king the most injured prince in the world;"
and then, clapping his hand upon his sword, added, " But
this, cousin, shall do him right." The colonel returning
to Holland soon after, reported what he took to be truth,
that the lieutenant-general had a great respect for the king.
When therefore the news of the king's trial reached Hol-
land, he was sent over with letters credential from the
States, to which was added a blank with the king's signet,
and another of the prince's, both confirmed by the States,
for Cromwell to set down his own conditions, if he would
now save his majesty's life. The colonel went directly to
his kinsman's house ; who was so retired and shut up ia
his chamber, with an order to let none know he was at
home, that it was with much difficulty he obtained admit-
tance, after he had d^^clared who he was. Having mu-
tually saluted each other, the colonel desired to speak a
few words with him in private; and began with much free-
dom to set before him the heinousness of the fact then
about to be committed, and with what detestation it was
looked upon abroad ; telling him, that " of all men living
he could never have imagined he would have had any hand
in it, who in his hearing had protested so much for the
king." To this Cromwell answered, " It was not he, but
the army ; and though he did once say some such words,
yet now times were altered, and Providence seemed to
order things otherwise." And it is said he added, that
" he had prayed and fasted for the king, but no return
that way was yet made to him." Upon this the colonel
stepped a little back, and suddenly shut the door, which
made Cromwell apprehend he was going to be assassinated;
54 CROMWELL.
but pulling out his papers, he said to him, " Cousin, this
is no time to trifle with words : see here, it is now in your
own power, not only to make yourself, but your family,
relations, and posterity, happy and honourable for ever ;
otherwise, as they changed their name before from Wil-
liams to Cromwell, (which was the fact, as appears by their
pedigree), so now they must be forced to change it again:
for this will bring such an ignominy upon the whole
generation of them, as no time will be able to deface,*'
At this Cromwell paused a little, and then said, " I desire
you will give me till night to consider of it ; and do you
go to your inn, but not to bed, till you hear from me."
The colonel did accordingly ; and about one in the morning
a messenger came to tell him " He might go to rest, and
expect no other answer to carry to the prince ; for the
council of officers had been seeking God, as he also had
done the same, and it was resolved by them all that the
king must die."
The government being now entirely changed, for in five
days after the king's death the house of lords was voted
useless, it became necessary to think of some expedient
for managing the executive power ; and therefore it was
resolved to set up a council of state, of which John Brad-
$haw was president, and lieutenant-general Cromwell a
principal member. But before he had well taken posses-
sion of this new dignity, he was again called to action ;
aqd that too as hazardous as any in which he had hitherto
been concerned. The persons he had to engage were part
of the army he commanded ; who, being dissatisfied on
some account or other, set forth their sentiments by way
of remonst;r?ince presented to the general. For this high
offence they were seized, and tried by a court martial, and
sentenced to ride with their faces to their horses' tails, at
the head of their respective corps, with a paper expressing
their crime fixed on their breasts, after which their swords
were to be broke over their heads, and themselves cashiered ;
every circumstance of which was strictly executed, March 6,
in Great Palace-yard. This served only to increase the
flame ; for several regiments of horse, and among the rest
Crorx^well's own, mutinied, put white cockades in their
hats, and iippointed a rendezvous at Ware ; where Crom-
well appeared, when he was least suspected, and brought
v/ith him some regiments quartered at a distance, that he
could depend on. Here, without any previous expostu-
CROMWELL. 55
laiions, he with two regiments of horse surrounded one
regiment of the mutineers, and calling four men by name
out of their ranks, obliged them to cast dice for their lives;
and the two that escaped were ordered to shoot the others,
which tiiey did ; upon which the rest thought fit to slip
their white cockades into their pockets, and to secure
themselves by a submission. The same spirit of mutiny
broke out in another regiment of horse ; but it was entirely
subdued by Cromwell, and the fomenters of it punished.
After this, he and Fairfax vi^ent first to Oxford, where they
were made doctors in civil law ; and thence to London,
where they were splendidly entertained by the city, and
had presents of great value when they took leave. At this
time England, if not quiet, was totally subdued ; the
Scots were discontented, but not in arms ; so that Ireland
became the principal object of the parliament's care, since^
in that island, of three parties which had for many years
been shedding each other's blood, their own was the
weakest. In August, therefore, 1649, Cromwell embarked
with an army for Ireland, where his successes, as in Eng-
land, were attended with so few disappointments, that, by
June 1650, he had in a manner subdued the whole island.
By that time his presence was required in England, not
only by those who wished him well, but even by his most
inveterate enemies ; and therefore constituting his son-in-
law Ireton, his deputy, he took ship for Bristol, where,
after a dangerous passage, he safely arrived, leaving such
a terror upon the minds of the Irish as made every thing
easy to those who succeeded him, and completed the con-
quest of that country.
His return to London was a kind of tri-umph ; and all
ranks of people contended, either from love or fear, who
should shew him the most respect. At his taking"^ his seat
in the house, he had thanks returned him for his services
in the highest terms. When these ceremonies were over,
they proceeded to matters of greater consequence ; for, by
this time the parliament had another war upon their hands,
the Scots having invited home Charles 11. and prepared an
army to invade England. There is no doubt that the par-
liament would readily have trusted this war to the conduct
of lord Fairfax, a brave man and good officer ; but Fair-
fax had taken the covenant, and such were his scruples,
he could not bring himself to think of breaking it, by at-
tacking the Scots in their own country, Cromwell thought.
56 CROMWELL.
and rightly, that they should not wait for an invasion, but
prevent one invasion by another ; and therefore pressed
Fairfax to continue in his command, and the more earnestly,
because he knew he would not do it ; declaring that he
thought it a greater honour to serve as his lieutenant-ge-
neral, than to command in chief the finest army in the
world. Fairfax, however, remained inflexible in liis reso-
lution ; so that, June 26, an ordinance passed for repealing
his commission, and at the same timeanother for appointing
Cromwell general and commander in chief of all the forces
of the commonwealth. He had now such power as might
have satisfied the most ambitious mind ; for though he of-
fered to resign his lieutenancy of Ireland, the parliament
would not accept it. He marched with an army to Scot-
land, and Sept. 3, gained the victory of Dunbar, than
which none ever did him greater credit' as a commander.
He continued the war all the winter ; in the spring was se-
verely attacked by an ague ; of which recovering, he,
after several successes, forced the king into England, and
blocked him up in Worcester. Sept. 3, 1651, he attacked
and carried that city, totally defeated the king's forces,
and gained what he himself called, in his letter to the par-
liament, the crowning victory. It is said, that this signal
stroke of success took Cromwell a little off his guard. He
would have knighted two of his principal commanders
upon the field of battle, and was with difficulty dissuaded
from it : his letter to the parliament on this occasion was
conceived in higher and loftier terms than usual : and
Ludlow says, that his behaviour was altered from that day,
and that all who were about him observed it. It is cer-
tain, nevertheless, that he afterwards behaved with great
humility and submission to the parliament j though in the
mean time he took all care imaginable to make the army
sensible of their own importance, and to let them see that
nothing could divide their interests from his own. This
was the true foundation of his growing greatness, and of
the gradual declension of the parliament's power; which,
though they clearly discerned, they knew not how to pre-
vent.
He did not remain long with the troops, but directed
his march to London ; where, besides many considerable
marks of honour that were paid him, a general thanks-
giving vvas appointed for his victory, and September 3d
made an anniversary state holiday. When these ceremo-
CROMWELL. 57
nies and acknowledgments were over, lie had leisure to
look about him, and to consider his own condition as well
as that of the nation. lie saw himself at present general
and commander in chief of a great army in E^igland, and
at the same time was lord lieutenant of Ireland. But then
he knew that all this was derived to him from the parlia-
ment ; and he clearly discerned, that, whether indepen-
dents or presbyterians sat there, they would endeavour to
perpetuate supreme power in their own hands, which for
many reasons he disliked. He therefore sifted the most
eminent persons, in order to find out their sentiments
about the establishment of the kin^^dom ; which was a new
phrase invented to cover the design of subverting the par-
liament. In a meeting among them, held some time after
the battle of Worcester, he proposed the question fairly ;
when some declared for a monarchy, as others did for a
commonwealth : but this conference came to nothing.
Nov. 7, 16 52, meeting the lord commissioner Whitlocke in
the Park, he entered into a long discourse with him upon
this important subject : in which he undertook to shew
Whitlocke, that the parliament was now become a faction;
that they were resolved to ruin all, and to rule for ever,
merely for their own sakes ; that they gave all employ-
ments to themselves, their relations, aud friends ; that
they drew every thing within their own cognizance, by
which the subject lost the benefit of the law, and held his
property by a precarious tenure ; that, all this considered,
they had fought themselves into a worse condition ; and
that, instead of a monarch with a prerogative royal, they
had now many masters, who made laws and broke them at
their pleasure ; that, on the other hand, the army was very
sensible of this ; that they bore it with great reluctance ;
that they too had great disputes among themselves: and
that it could not be long before those mischiefs broke out
into a new flame. Whitlocke very readily agreed, that he
had described both parties truly; but at the same time
acknowledged, that, notwithstanding he was acquainted
with the diseases of the commonwealth, he was entirely
ignorant of any right method of cure. "What," said
Cromwell, " if a man should take upon himself to be
king ?" Whitlocke replied by shewing him, that he would
get nothing by it; that he had more power already than,
former kings ever had ; and that by assuming the name, he
might run great hazard of losing the thing. Cromwell
58 CROMWELL.
then pressed to know, what he would hare done ? Upon
which VVhitlocke proposed compromising matters with
Charles Stuart: the debating of which Cromwell declined,
as an affair of much difficulty. Cromwell had many con-
versations of this sort with the most intelligent of all par-
ties, none of which diverted him from his secret purpose,
to possess himself of the regal power, under some name or
other.
Notwithstanding this, he behaved in public with great
decency and duty towards that body of men he was con-
triving to remove. The whole winter of 1652 was spent
in contrivances and cabals on both sides ; b}' the friends of
the parliament to support and maintain its authority, by
their opponents to bring things into such a situation, as to
render the necessity of dissolving that assembly universally
apparent. April 19, 1653, Cromwell .called a council of
officers once more to debate this point; in which, as he had
many friends, so he had also some opponents, who insinu-
ated, that what he did proceeded from self-interest and
ambition. Major-general Harrison, a zealous fanatic, but
absolutely deceived by Cromwell, assured the assembly,
in the sincerity of his heart, that " the lord-general sought
only to pave the way for the government of Jesus and his
saints;" to which major Streater briskly returned, that
'' then he ought to come quickly; for if it was after Christ-
mas, he would come too late." Upon this, Cromwell ad-
journed the meeting till the next morning, when a new
point was started, whether it might not be expedient for
the house and the army to appoint twenty persons on a
side to be intrusted with the supreme power ? In the midst
of this dispute advice came that the house had under con-
sideration their own dissolution ; and upon this, such as
were members withdrew, and went thither to promote that
design. But in reality the parliament had framed a bill,
to continue themselves to November 5th of the next vear,
proposing in the mean time to fill up the house by new
elections. Cromwell, informed what the house was upon,
was so enraged, that he left the council, and marched
directly with a party of 300 soldiers to VVestminster.
There placing some of them at the door, some in the lobby,
and others on the stairs, he went into the house ; and,
addressing himself first to his friend St. John, told jiim,
that *' he then came to do that which grieved him to the
very soul, and what he had earnestly with tears prayed tq
C R O M W ELL. 59
God against; nay, that he had rather be torn in pieces
than do it ; hut that there was a necessity laid upon hinr
therein, in order to the glory of God, and the good of the
nation," I'hen he sat down, and heard their debates for
some time on the forementioned bill ; after which, calling
to major-general Harrison, who was on the other side of
the house, to come to him, he told him, that " he judged
the parliament ripe for a dissolution, and tins to he the
time of doing it." Harrison answered, " Sir, the work is
very great and dangerous ; therefore I desire you seriously
to consider of it before you engage in it." *' You say
well," replied Cromwell ; and thereupon sat still for about
a quarter of an hour. Then the question being put for
passing the said bill, he declared again to Harrison, " This
is the time, I must do it :" and so standing up of a sudden,
he bade the speaker leave the chair, and told the house
that they had sat long enough, unless they had done more
good ; that some of them were ^vhoremasters, others
drunkards, oihers corrupt and unjust men, and scandalous
to the profession of the gospel ; that it was not fit they
should sit as a parliament any longer, and therefore he
must desire them to go away. He charged them with
not having a heart to do any thing for the public good,
and with being the supporters of tyranny and oppression.
AVhen some of the members began to speak, he stepped
into the midst of the house, and said, " Come, come, I
will put an end to your prating :" then walking up and
down the house, he cried out, " You are no parliament, I
say, you are no parliament;" and stamping with his feet,
he bid them for shame be gone, and give place to honester
men. Upon this signal the soldiers entered the house,
and he bade one of them take away that bauble, pointing
to the mace ; and Harrison taking the speaker by the hand,
he came dovvn. Then Cromwell, adtiressing himself again
to the members, who were al)out an hundred, said, " 'Tis
you that have forced me to this ; for I have sought the
Lord night and day, that he would rather slay me, than
put me upon the doing of this work." And then seizing
on all their papers, he ordered the soldiers to see the house
cleared of all members ; and having caused the doors to be
locked up, went away to VVhitehall. Here he found a
council of officers still assembled, and this grand point vet
in debate: upon which he told then) roimdly, " tliey need
trouble tliemselves no farther about it, for he had done it."
60 CROMWELL.
*' Done what?" replied colonel Okey, who was not one of
his creatures ; and, upon his telling him, expostulated the
point warmly. But Cromwell talked so much louder than
he, of the glory of God and the good of the nation, the
removing of yokes and badges of slavery, that Okey very
soon thought proper to be sdent, and to wait for the con-
clusion of the affair. In the afternoon of the same day,
Cromwell, attended by the majors-general Lambert and
Harrison, went to the council of state, and, finding them
sitting, addressed them in the following terms: " Geiule-
men, if you are met here as private persons, you shall not
be disturbed ; but, if as a council of state, this is no place
for you. And since you cannot but know what was done
at the house this morning, so take notice, that the parlia-
ment is dissolved." Serjeant Bradshaw boldly answered,
" Sir, we have heard what you did at the house in the
morning, and before many hours all England will hear it.
But, sir, you are mistaken to think that the parliament is
dissolved, for no power under heaven can dissolve them
but themselves ; and therefore take you notice of that."
Some others also spoke to the same purpose : but the
council finding themselves to be under the same force, all
quietly departed.
The true reason why Cromwell thus dismissed this coun-
cil of state, was, because he intended to have another of
his own framing ; these being men entirely devoted to the
parliament, from whom they derived their authority. He
now projected such measures as appeared to him the most
proper for the support of that great authority which he
had attained. He continued for a few days to direct all
things by the advice of the council of officers ; but after-
wards a nevv council of state was called, by virtue of letters
or warraiits under the lord-general's hand. But this con-
sisting chiefly of fifth-monarchy and other madmen, soon
dissolved of itself; and then the power returned into the
hands of Cromwell, from whom it came. Harrison, and
about twenty more, remained in the house, and seeing the
reign of the saints at an end, placed one Moyer in the
speaker's chair, and began to draw up protests ; but they
were soon interrupted by colonel White with a party of
soldiers. White asking them what they did there, they
told him, *' they were seeking the Lord ;" to which he
replied, " that they might go somewhere else, for to his
knowledge, the Lord had not been there many years ;"
CROMWELL. 61
and so turned them out of doors. The scene thus changed,
the supreme power was said to be in the council of officers
again ; and they very speedily resolved, that the lord-
general, with a select council, should have the administra-
tion of public affairs, upon the terms contained in a paper,
entitled *' The Instrument of Government ;" and that his
excellency should be protector of the commonwealth of
England, Scotland, and Ireland, and have the title of
Highness. Accordingly he was invested therewith Dec.
16, 1653, in the court of chancery in Westminster-hall,
with great solemnity ; and thus, in his 54th year, assumed
the sovereign power, which he well knew how to exercise
with firmness. When he had thus reduced the government
into some order at least, he proceeded very wisely and
warily ; appointed a privy-council, in which there were
great and worthy men, who he knew would either not act
at ail, or not very long with him; hut their names giving
a sanction for the present, he proceeded, with the advice
of as many of them as attended, to make several ordi-
nances that were necessary, as also to dispose matters for
the holding a new parliament. He applied himself also to
the settlement of the public affairs, both foreign and do-
mestic ; he concluded a peace with the states of Holland
and Sweden ; he obliged the king of Portugal, notwith-
standing all that had passed between the parliament and
bim, to accept of a peace upon his terms ; and adjusted
matters with France, though not without some difficulty.
As to affairs at home, he filled the courts in Westminster-
hall with able judges ; and directed the lawyers themselves
to make such corrections in the practice of their profession,
as might free them from public odium. The same mode-
ration he practised in church matters ; professing an un-
alterable resolution to maintain liberty of conscience. He
gave the command of all the forces in Scotland to general
Monk, and sent his son Henry to govern Ireland. By an
ordujance dated April 12, 1654, he united England and
Scotland, fixing the number of representatives for the lat-
ter at 30 ; and soon after he did the same by Ireland. He
affected to shew great zeal for justice, in causing the bro-
ther of the ambassador from Portugal to be executed for
murder; which he did July 10, in spite of the greatest
application to prevent it.
But, notwithstanding the pains which he took to gain the
affections of the people,, he found a spirit rising agains^t
62 C R O M ^V E L L.
him in all the three kingdoms ; and his governiTient so
cramped for want of money, tliat he was under an absolute
necessity of calling a parliament, according to the form
which he had prescribed in the Instrument of Government.
He fixed Sept. 3 for the day on which they were to as-
semble, esteeming it particularly fortunate to him ; and to
this he peremptorily adhered, though it happened to fall
upon a Sunday. The parliament was accordingly opened
on that day, after hearing a. sermon at Westminster-abbey,
to which the protector went in very great state. He re-
ceived this house of commons in the painted chamber,
where he gave them a full account of the nature of that
government which he had thought fit to establish, the ends
he proposed, and the means he had used to promote those
ends, (Sec. When they came to the house, they fell to
debating, whether the supreme legislative power of the
kingdom should be in a single person, or a parliament ;
which alarming the protector, who found himself in danger
of being deposed by a vote of this new parliament, he
caused a guard to be set at the door, on the 12th of the
same month, to prevent their going into the house of com-
mons; then sent for them into the painted chamber, where
he gave them a very sharp rebuke ; nor did he permit any
to go into the house afterwards, before they had taken an
oath to be faithful to the protector and his government.
While this parliament was sitting, an odd accident hap-
pened to the protector. He had received a set of Fries-
iand horses from the duke of Holstein as a present; and
would needs drive his secretary Thurloe in his coach,
drawn by these horses, round Hyde Park. But the horses,
proving as ungovernable as the parliament, threw his high-
ness out of the box, and in his fall one of his pocket pis-
tols went off; notwithstanding which he escaped, without
either wound or broken bones. By the Instrument of
Government, the parliament was to sit five months; but
finding they were about to take away his power, and would
give him no money, he, Jan. 23, sent for them once more
into the painted chamber, where after a long and bitter
speech he dissolved them.
The protector's mother lived with him at Whitehall, and
shared in the splendour of his court, but enjoyed it not.
Though she troubled him but little with her remonstrances,
her fears were so strong, that she could not believe he was
safe if she did not see him twice a day ; and if by accident
CROMWELL. IS3
she heard a pistol at any time discharged, she could not
help crying out, " My son is shot!" She died Nov. 18,
1654. Cromwell caused her vennains to be interred in
Henry Vllth's chapel ; but this was contrary to her desire,
for she easily foresaw that they would never rest in peace
there.
The opening of 1655 proved but cloudy : the dissolu-
tion of the parliament created much discontent in the
kingdom ; so that Cromwell found himself beset with con-
spiracies on all sides, and by all parties ; but he had the
good luck to discover them before they could be executed.
Upon Feb. 13, he went to Guildhall; and declared, that
the republicans and cavaliers had formed designs agrainst
his person. Of the former, major John Wildman, who
had been an intimate friend of his, was seized while
penning a paper, entitled " A declaration of the people of
England against the tyrant Oliver Cromwell ;" and other
violent men of that party he imprisoned, but was afraid of
doing more. As to the royalists, he suffered them to go
on a little; for, by the help of one Manning, who was his
spy in the court of Charles IL he was so well acquainted
with their projects, as to put them upon measures which
turned to his own account. And this is a true solution of
that insurrection which broke out at Salisbury, where the
king was proclaimed, and Cromwell's judges seized ; which
act of open force left no doubt with the public, that there
were designs against the protector. For this insurrection
several persons suffered death; and hence the protector,
who had hitherto shewn an inclination to govern as a law-
ful prince if he could, seemed to lay aside his disposition,
and no longer to make any difficulty of supporting his
authority in any manner and by any means. In the spring
of this year was carried into execution that famous expe-
dition, by which the protector hoped to make himself
master of the Spanish West Indies; where, though his
forces did not succeed in their main design, yet they made
themselves masters of Jamaica, which island has remained
ever since part of the British dominions. I'he alliance
which had been so long in treaty with the crown of France,
was signed Nov. 24, 1655, and proclaimed the2Sth; by
which it was stipulated, that Cromwell should send over a
body of English troops, to act in conjunction with the
French against the Spaniards in the Low Countries ; and
that, on the other hand, the French king should oblige
€4 CROMWELL.
the royal family to quit his doininions. The new king of
Sweden sent over an ambassador to compliment the pro-
tector. He was most graciously received ; but the in-
tended visit of queen Christina, who had just resigned the
crown, he judged proper to avoid. The glorious suc-
cesses of admiral Biake in the Mediterranean, and the
great sums he recovered from several powers for depreda-
tions committed by their subjects on the English mer-
chants, did mi'.ch honour to the protector's government ;
and to conclu'ie the transactions of this year, it must be
allowed, that hovv much soever he might be disliked at
home, his reputation at this time was very great abroad.
The loss he sustained in the discovery of Manning,
whom king Charles caused to be shot- for corresponding
with Thurloe, was most effectually repaired by a person of
superior character, who was chancellor Hyde's great cor-
respondent, and supposed to be one of the most active and
determined royalists in England. Though the war with
Spain under Blake's management had brought two millions
of money into the protector's coffer, he still felt some
wants, wiiich he judged nothing but a parliament could
supply ; and having concerted more effectual methods, as
he conceived, for bending them to his will, than had been
practised before the last, he fixed the meeting of that
assembly Sept. 19, 1656. It met accordingly ; but with a
guard posted at the door of the house, who suffered none
to enter till they had taken the oaths prepared for them,
by which many were excluded. The parliament, however,
chose a speaker; passed an act for disannulling the king's
title, another for the security of his highness's person, and
several money bills : for all which the protector gave them
his most gracious thanks. About the close of this year a
new plot was either discovered or invented, for which one
Miles Sindercombe was condemned ; but he disappointed
the protector, by poisoning himself the night before he
was to be executed. In the spring of 1657 it plainly ap-
peared what the protector aimed at, by the pains he had
taken with the parliament ; for now a kind of legislative
settlement of the government was upon the carpet, under
the title of " The humble Petition and Advice * ;" in which
there was a blank for the supreme governor's title, and a
* See the principal topics in tliis Petition, reduced into one argument by Dr.
Johnson, ill llic Gent. Mag. 3741, p. 93.
CROMWELL. 65
clause prepared to countenance the establishing something
like peers, under the name of the other house. At
length the whole came to light ; for one alderman Pack, a
forward, time-serving, money-getting fellow, deep in all
the jobs of the government, moved that the first blank
might be filled with the word King. This was violently
opposed by the army-members ; but at length, after vari-
ous debates, carried, as well as the clause empowering him
to make something like lords; and in this form the petition
was presented to his highness, who desired some time to
consider before he gave his answer. The protector would
have been glad to have had the kingship forced upon him,
but that he found some of his best friends and nearest re-
lations averse to it ; who carried their opposition so far, as
to ])romote a petition from the army to the parliament
against it. This determined Cromwell to refuse that
honour which he had been so long seeking ; and, therefore,
May 8, 1657, he told them in the banqueting-house, that
he could not with a good conscience accept the govern-
ment under the title of king. The parliament then thought
proper to till up the blank with his former title of protector;
and his highness himself, that all the pains he had taken
might not absolutely be thrown away, resolved upon a new
inauguration, which was accordingly performed June 2G,
1657, in Westminster-hall, with all the pomp and solem-
nity of a coronation. After this, the house of commons
adjourned to Jan. 20th following, in order to give the pro-
tector tim.e to regulate all things according to the new sys-
tem ; with a view to which he summoned his two sons, and
others, to take their seats in the other house. This year
hG was extremely disconcerted with a small treatise, which
captain Titus, under the name of William Allen, published
with this title, " Killing no Murder :" in which was shewn,
so plainly, that one who had violated all laws, could derive
protection from no law, that Oliver thenceforward be-
lieved himself in continual danger. But his attempt to ap-
prehend the true author failed of success.
In the beginning of 1658 he pleased himself with the
hopes of being once at the head of an assembly somewhat
resembling the ancient parliaments of England ; and, pur-
suant to their own adjournment, the commons met Jan. 2Q,
as the other house also did, agreeably to the writs of sum-
mons issued by the lord protector. He sent for them by
the black rod, and began his speech with the pompous
Vol. XI. F
66 CROMWELL.
words, " My lords, and you the knights, citizens, and
burgesses of the house of commons, &c." All this only
served to shew that his administration was founded in
military force, and nothing else : for the ancient nobility
would not resume their seats in such company as he had
assigned them ; and the house of commons would have no-
thing to do with the new nobles in the other house ; and
the new nobles could do nothing by themselves. Thus in
less than a fortnight the new system was in a fair way of
being pulled to pieces, which obliged the protector to
come, Feb. 4th, and to dissolve them with great bitterness
of speech and sorrow of heart : for now he plainly saw that
a regular establishment was a thing impracticable. Some
farther designs against him were soon after discovered, not
of the cavaliers only, but of the fifth-monarchy men also.'
With the latter he was obliged to observe some measures ;
the former he delivered over to a high court of justice. By
the sentence of that court. Dr. Hewett, a divine of the
church of England, suffered death for contumacy, June 8,
1658 ; having refused to plead, or to own the jurisdiction
of the court. Aug. 6, the protector's favourite daughter
Elizabeth, wife of John Claypole, esq. of Narborougti in
Northamptonshire, died, which aff"ected him greatly on
more accounts than one. For her illness being very pain-
ful, distempered her mind not a little ; and in her deliri-
ums she exclaimed vehemently against him for his cruel-
ties, and especially for the death of Dr. Hewett, on whose
behalf she had made the most importunate intercession?.
He is said to have been from that time wholly altered, and
daily more reserved and suspicious : and indeed not with-
out reason ; for he found a general discontent prevailed
through the nation, a signal disaff'ection in the army, and
a great increase of the influence of the republicans, to
whom some of his relations, and even his wife, inclined :
so that he knew not which way to turn, or what to expect.
These cares bavins: loncc tormented his mind, at last affected
his body ; so that while at Hampton-court, he fell into a
kind of slow fever, which soon degenerated into a tertian
ague. For a week this disorder continued without any
dangerous symptoms, insomuch that every other day he
walked abroad ; but one day after dinner his five physi-
cians coming to wait upon him, one of them having felt
his pulse, said that it intermitted. At this being some-
what surprised, he turned pale, fell into a cold sweat, and
CROMWELL. 67
when he was ahuost fainting, ordered liimself to be car-
ried to bed ; where, by the assistance of cordials, being
brought a httle to iiiaiself, he made his will with respect
to his private affairs.
It is impossible to have a better account of his last sick-
ness, than that given by Dr. Bates, who was his physician.
After mentioning the circumstance of making his will, h©
tells us, that the next morning early, when one of his phy-
sicians came to visit him, he asked him, " why he looked
so sad r" and, when answer was made, that so it became
any one, who had the weighty care of his life and health
upon him ; " Ye physicians," said he, " think I shall die :
1 tell you, I shall not die this time ; I am sure of it. Do
not think," said he to the physician, looking more atten-
tively at him on these words ; " do not think that I am
mad ; I speak the words of truth upon surer grounds than
Galen or your Hippocrates furnish you with. God Al-
mighty himself liath given that answer, not to my prayers
alone, but also to the prayers of those who entertain a
stricter commerce and greater interest with him. Go on
cheerfully, banishing all sadness from your looks ; and
deal with me as yon would do with a serving-man. Ye may
have a skill in tlie nature of things, yet nature can do
more than all physicians put together ; and God is far
more above nature." He was then desired to take his rest,
because he had not slept the greatest part of the night;
and this physician left liun. But as he was coming out of
the chamber, he accidentally met another ; to whom said
he, I am afraid our patient will be light-headed. " Then
(replied the other) you are certainly a stranger in this
house. Do not you know what was done last night ? The
chaplains, and all who are dear to God, being dispersed
into several parts of the palace, have prayed to God for his
health : and have brought this answer, he shall recover."
Nay, to such a degree of madness they came, that a pub-
lic fast being for his sake kept at Hampton-court, they did
not so much pray to God for his health, as thank him for
the undoubted pledges of his recovery ; and they repeated
the same at Whitehall. These oracles of his deluded chap-
lains were the cause that the physicians spake not~a. word
of his danger. Being removed to London, he became
much worse, grew tirst lethargic, then delirious; and after
recovering a little, but not enough to give any distinct di-
rections about public affairs, he died Sept. 3, 165S, aged-
I 2
63 C R O M W E L L.
somewhat more than 59 years. A little before his death,
the physicians awakened the privy-council, by representing
the danger he was in ; and at an appointed time he was
urged to name his successor. But when in a drowsy fit he
answered out of purpose, they again asked him, if he did
not name Kicharcl his eldest son for his successor ? To
whicli he answered, Yes. Then being asked where his will
was, which heretofore he had made concerning the heirs of
the kingdom, lie sent to look for it in his closet and other
places; but in vain — for he had either burnt it, or some-
body had stolen it. It has been imagined that Cromwell
was poisoned, but without any reason. Dr. Bates gives us
the following account of his disorder : " His body being
opened, in the animal parts the brain seemed to be over-
charged ; in the vitals the lungs a little inflamed ; but in
the natural, the source of the distemper appeared ; the
spleen, though sound to the eye, being within filled with
matter like to the lees of oil. Nor was that inconsistent
with the disease he had for a long time been subject to ;
since, for at least thirty years, he had at times complained
of hypochondriacal indispositions. Though his bowels
were taken out, and his body filled with spices, wrapped
in a fourfold cere-cloth, put first into a coffin of lead, and
then into one of wood, yet it purged and wrought through
all, so that there was a necessity of interring it before the
solemnity of the funeral." A very pompous funeral was
ordered at the public expence, and performed from So-
merset-house, with a splendour superior to any that has
been bestowed on crowned heads. Some have related,
that his body was, by his own particular order, secretly
buried in Naseby field ; others that it was wrapped in lead,
and sunk in the deepest' part of the Thames, to prevent
any insult that might be offered to it; others that it was
taken from the gallows after the restoration, and deposited
ill the family-vault of the Claypoles, at Narborough near
Peterborough. From the account of what passed upon
the order to disinter him after the restoration, it seems that
his body was interred at Westminster. " In the middle
aile of Henry VIFs chapel, at the east end, in a vault,
was found his corpse. In the inside of the coffin, and upon
the breast of the corpse, was laid a coppcr-pUite finely
gilt,, inclosed in a thin case of lead; on the side whereof
were engraven the arms of England, imj)alcd with the arms
ul Oliver; mii on the reveri^c the following i^^gcnd : Oli-
CROMWELL. 69
v^ius protector reipublicae Angliae, Scotiae, & Hibcrniie,
uatus 25 April 1599, inauguratus 16 Decembris 1653,
mortuus 3 Septembris ann. 1658, Hie situs est." But
this iu some writers is considered as a delusion ; and that
some other, if not the body of Charles L was inclosed in
this coffin, which is still a greater delusion and absurdity,
as a very recent discovery proves. It has also been said,
that the body of his daughter Claypole was found at the
same time and place, with a silver plate with an inscrip-
tion ; but the workmen quarrelling about this plate, it was
thrown into the vault again. The inscription on it, how-
ever, was shewn to the Society of Antiquaries, 1738, by
Dr. Cromwell Mortimer, whose father married to his first
wife a daughter of Richard Cromwell. The plate on Oli"
ver's coffin was in 1773 in the possession of the hon. George
Hobart, of Nocton, in Lincolnshire, and shewn to the
same society by Mr. Wills, and is engraved in Mr. Noble's
Memoirs *.
Odious as Cromwell's reign had been, many marks of
public approbation were bestowed upon his memory. The
poems of Waller, Sprat, and Dryden, though the authors
lived to change their sentiments, give a very high idea of
him, but allowance must be made for poetical evidence.
In his life-time his actions had been celebrated by the
learned abroad, as well as by his own secretary Milton at
home ; and with these panegyrics he seems not to have
been displeased. We have indeed various characters of
him from persons of various sentiments ; yet in most of
these there seems to be a mixture of flattery or prejudice.
His panegyrists knew not where to stop their praises ; and
his enemies were as extravagant in their censures. Lord
Hoilis, in his " Memoirs," will hardly allow him any great
or good qualities; and one principal design of Ludlow's
Memoirs is to represent him as the vilest ot men. Cowley
seems to have excelled all others, as well in respect to the
* The protector's body, with that of Charles's death, when the tliree were
Ireton's, by a vote of the house of com- conveyed upon sled{;es to Tybciin, nitd
mons, was taken up, Saturday Jan. '26, haiige.d up on the gallons tdi .sun sel,
1660 ; and on the Monday night follow- then beheaded, and ilieir ti uiiks ilnown
ing they were drawn in two several into a liole under the gallows, and
carts to the Red Lion Inn iit llolborn, their heads set upon poles upon the to|»
where they remained all night. Brad- of Westminster-hail, where Oliver's
shaw's, included in the same sentence, long remained. OliveV's scull is shewn
as he had presided at the trial of in different places, a j)roi)f prob;vbly
Charles I. was not taken up till the that none of Ihciu are genuine,
morning foUowinij, the anniversary of
70 C R O M VV E L L.
matter as the manner of representing him in the different
lights of praise and censure ; so that his performance may
justly be esteemed the most perfect of any, as it is beyond
comparison the most beautiful. It is said, that cardinal
Mazarine styled him a fortunate madman : but father Or-
leans, who relates this, dislikes that cliaracter, and would
substitute in its place that of a judicious villain. Claren-
don calls him a brave, wicked man : and Burnet is of opi-
nion, that " his life and his arts were exhausted together;
and that, if he had lived longer, he would scarce have been
able to preserve his power." But this only proves, that
the bishop did not discern what resources he had. " How
blameworthy soever the protector might have been in the
acquisition of his high office, or how vvickedly soever he
acquired it, certain it is, he rivalled the greatest of the
English monarchs in glory, ahd made himself courted and
dreaded by the nations around him. The peace he gave
the Dutch was honourable to himself and the nation ; and
whether he acted prudenily or not in breaking uith Spain,
and allying himself with France, the inequality between
the two crowns was far from being as visible then as it has
since appeared, and Cromwell always had it in his power
to throw himself into the opposite scale if necessary ; and
he distinguished himself by his interposition in beiialf of
the persecuted subjects of the French crown. His own
government was, however, far from being free from blame.
His edict against the episcopal clergy was very cruel, as it
deprived them in a good measure of their maintenance,
and liberty of worshiping God in a way that appeared best
to their own understandiuGfs. The cavaliers had hard mea-
sure from him, as they were almost without exception sub-
jected to heav}^ taxes and other inconveniences, on account
of the rashness and imprudence of some of their party.
Nor must we forget his institution of major-generals, who,
in a variety of instances, lorded over an oppressed country;
nor his sometimes making use of packed juries, and dis-
placing judges for refusing to follow his directions, esta-
blishing high-commission courts, and so frequently viola-
ting the privileges of parliament." Concessions like these
make part of the character of Oliver Cromwell, as drawn
by Mr. Harris, a professed advocate: but when he attempts
to vindicate his illegal and tyrannical actions, on the ground
of his being disappointed of regal power, and that had he
accepted the kingship, which was offered by his parlia-
CROMWELL. 71
ment, a firmer settlement and a milder administration
mic'ht have taken place, there seems little reason to doubt
but the support even of that rank, considering the danger-
ous and uncertain terms on which he must have held it,
would have urged him to the same violent and unwarrant-
able measures. Such biographers as Harris are generally
employed in striking a balance between good and bad
deeds ; but it is not a few of the former that can redeem the
character of Cromwell, who has been more justly said to
be the strangest compound of villainy and virtue, baseness
and magnanimity, absurdity and good sense, that we find
upon record in the annals of mankind.
In his public way of living, there was a strange kind of
splendour at Whitehall ; for sometimes his court wore an
air of stately severity ; at other times he would unbend
himself, and drink freely — never indeed to excess, but only
so far as to have an opportunity of sounding men's thoughts
in their unguarded moments. Sometimes, in the midst of
serious consultations, he started into buffoonery ; some-
times the feasts that were prepared for persons of the first
distinction, were, by a signal of drums and trumpets, made
the prey of his guards. There was a kind of madness in
his mirth, as well as of humour in his gravity, and much of
design in all. Some have commended him for keeping up
a great face of religion in his court and through the na-
tion : but it is not easy to know what they mean : certain
it is, that religion never wore so many faces as in his time ;
nor was he pleased to discover which face he liked best.
The presbyterians he hated ; the church of England he
persecuted; against the papists he made laws; but the
sectaries he indulged. Yet some of the presbyterian di-
vines he courted ; affected kindness to a few of the minis-
ters of the church of England ; and entered into some very
deep intrigues with the papists. This made sir Kenelm
Digby's favourite father White write in defence of his
government, and even of his conduct ; and the popish pri-
mate of Ireland sent precepts through all his province
under his seal, to pray for the health, establishment, and
prosperity of the protector Cromwell and his government.
With regard to personal religion, it would be dithcult to
find, or even to conceive, an instance of more consummate,
impudent hypocrisy than Cromwell exhibited, or a more
unfeeling contempt for every thing that deserves the name
of religion, when it interfered with the purposes of his
t2 CROMWELL.
ambition. As for the judges in Westminster-hall, he dif-^
fered with St. John, and \vas sometimes out of humour*
with Hale. He set up high courts of justice unknown to
the lav, and put Dr. Hewett to death for not pleading be-
fore one of them, though he oft'ered to pleadj if any one that
sat there, and was a lawyer, would give it under his hand,
that it was a legal jurisdiction ; and Whitlocke himself
owns, thatj though he was named in the commission, he
would never lilt, because he knew it was not lawful. His
majors-general, while they acted, superseded all law ; and
the protector himself derided Magna Charta, so much re-
spected by our kings. He was indeed kind to some
learned men. Milton and Marvel were his secretaries. He
would have hired Meric Casaubon to have written his his-
tory ; and have taken the famous Hobbes into his service
for writing the Leviathan, probably because in that cele-
brated work power is made the source of right and the
basis of religion — the foundation on which CromwelTs sys-
tem, as well as Hobbes's, was entirely built. He gave
archbishop Ushr-r a public funeral in Westminster-abbey ;
yet he paid but half the expence, and the other half proved
a heavy burden upon that prelate's poor family. And
when all this is allowed to so inflexible a tyrant, how much
is deducted from the infamy that attaches to his character?
The most execrable of mankind are never uniform in vil-
lainy.
For his conduct towards foreign courts, it is certain that
he carried his authority very far ; and perhaps the English
honour never stood h'gher. The queen of Sweden paid
great respect to him, who, to express his regard for her
on the other side, hung her picture in his bed-chamber.
He treated veiy haughtily the kings of Denmark and Por-
tugal ; and obliged the ambassador of the latter to come
and sign the peace at Whitehall, the very morning his
brother was executed on Tovver-hilh He refused the title
of cousin from the French khig, expecting that of brother;
and so artfully played the Spaniard with him at a critical
conjuncture, that the two crowns contended for his friend-
ship with an earnestness which made them both ridiculous.
Their advances were so extraordinary, and their acts of
submission so singidar, that the Dutch struck a medal,
with the bust of Cromwell and his titles on one side, with
Britannia on the other, and Cromwell laying his head in
her lap with his breeches down and his posteriors bare, the
CROMWELL. 78
Spanish ambassador stooping to kiss them, while the French
amoassatlor holds him by the arm, with these words in-
scribed, " Retire toi, Thonneur appartient au roi mon
niaiire :" that is, " Keep back ; that iionour belongs to the
king my master."
Very little of Cromwell's private life is known ; he being
near forty years of age when he first distinguished himself
in opposing the project for draining of the fens. Yet there
were some who knew and understood him thoroughly, be-
fore his extraordinary talents were made known to the
world ; and in particular his cousin Hampden, of which
the foUowin": was a remarkable instance. When the de-
bates ran high in the house of commons, and Hampden
and lord Digby were going down the parliament stairs,
witli Cromwell just before them, who was known to the
latter only by sight : " Pray," said his lordship to Hamp-
den, " who is tiiat man, for I see that he is on our side,
by his speaking so warmly to-day?" "That sloven," re-
plied Hampden, " whom you see before us, who has no
ornament in his speech ; that sloven, 1 say, if we should
ever come to a breach with the king, which God forbid !
in such a case, I say, that sloven will be the greatest man
in England." This prophecy, which was so fully accom-
plished, rose chiefly from the sense Hampden had of
Cromwell's indefatigable diligence in pursuing whatever
he undertook. He had another quality, which was equally
useful to him ; that of discerning the temper of those with
whom he had to deal, and dealing with them accordingly.
Before he became commander in chief, he kept up a very
high intimacy with the private men : taking great pains to
learn their names, by which he was sure to call them ;
shaking them by the hand, clapping them on the shoulder;
or, which was peculiar to him, giving them a slight box on
the ear; which condescending fanuliarities, with the warm
concern he expressed for their interests, gave him a power
easier conceived than described. He tried to inveigle the
earl of Manchester ; but finding that impracticable, he fell
upon him in the house of commons, and procured his re-
moval. He carried himself with so much respect to Fair-
fax, that he knew not liow to break with him, though he
knew that he had betrayed him He not only deceived
Harrison, Bradshaw, and Ludlow, but outwitted Oliver St.
John, who had more parts than them all ; and he foiled sir
Henry Vane with his own weapons. In short, he knew
74 CROMWELL.
men perfectly, worked them to his purposes as if they
had been cattle, and, which is still more wonderful, did
that often while they conceived that they were making a
tool of him. He had a reach of head, which enabled him
to impose even upon the greatest bodies of men. He fed
the resentment of the house of commons against the army,
till the latter were in a flame, and very angry with him ;
yet, w^hen he came to the army, it was u])on a flea-bitten
nag, all in a foam, as if he had made his escape from that
house ; in which trim he signed the engagement of Trip-
loe heath, throwing himself from his horse upon the grass,
and writing his name as he lay upon his belly. He had
yet another faculty beyond these ; and that was, the art of
concealing his arts. He dictated a paper once to Ireton,
which was imposed upon the agitators as if founded upon
their instructions; who sent it express by two of their num-
ber to Cromwell, then lieutenant-general, at his quarters
at Colchester. He was in bed when they came ; but they
demanded and obtained admittance. When they told him
their commission, he asked them, with the greatest rage
and resentment in his look, how they durst bring him
papers from the army ? They said, that paper contained
the sense of the army, and they were directed to do it.
f* Are you sure of that ?" said he, with the same stern
countenance, " Let me see it." He spent a long time in
reading it; and, as it seemed to them, in reflecting upon
it; then, with a mild and devout look, he told them it was
a most just thing, and he hoped that God would prosper
it ; adding, " I will stand by the army in these desires vvitl\
my life and fortune."
With such arts and qualities as these, joined to his great
military skill and reputation, we may account for all his
successes, and that prodigious authority to which he raised
himself, without havinsr recourse to that contract of his
with the devil, of which, as Echard pretends, colonel
Lindsey was eye and ear-witness. In the course of liis
lile he was temperate and sober, and despised those who
were not so. In his family he shewed great kindness, but
without any diminution of his authority. He was very re-
spectful to his mother, and very tender to his wife ; yet
iieiiher had any influence over him. He expressed a deep
sense of the concern which the former discoveretl for his
danger, heard whatever she said to him patiently, but
acted as he thought proper, and, in respect to her burial,
CROMWELL. 75
directly against her dying request. His wife is said to have
made a proposition lending to restore the king ; but he
rejected it unmoved, as he had shewn himself before, when
his son Richard threw himself at his feet, to dissuade him
from taking the king's life. He did not seem otfended at
applications of the same kind from other persons, as from
Whitlocke, thongli that gentleman thought he lost his con-
fidence by it ; irom the marquis of Hertford, whom he
treated very respectfully ; and from Dr. Brownrig, bishop
of Exeter, to whom he shewed more kindness than to any
other man of his rank and profession. Asking advice once
of this prelate, " My advice," said he to him, " must be
in the words of the Gospel : ' Render to Ca-sar the things
that are CiEsar's, and unto God the things that are God's ;"
to which Cromwell made no reply. He shewed a great
respect for learning and learned men, without affecting to
be learned hiuiself. His letters, however, are the best
testimonies of his parts; for they are varied in their style
in a wonderlul manner, exactly adapted to the purposes
for which they were written, and the persons to whom they
were addressed. A great number of them are to be found
in Thurloe's and Nichols's collections, as well as in Rush-
worth and W'iiitlocke. His public speeches were long,
dark, and perplexed j and though mixed with the cant of
the times, yet have sentiments in tiiem which shew a su-
periority of understanding. Several of these are in Whit-
locke's " Memorials." In his conversation he was easy
and pleasant, and could unbend himself without losing his
dignit}-. He made an excellent choice in those he em-
ployed, but trusted none of them farther than was ne-
cessary.
It may seem strange, that in drawing together his cha-
racter, there should be nothing said of his principles as to
government or religion ; but the real truth js, that neither
can be discovered with certainty. We know that he hated
a commonwealth, and the presbyterians ; but what his
sentiments were in other respects, it is not possible to say.
When he recollected himself after the follies of his youtli,
there seems to be no doubt that he had serious impressions
of religion ; and there seem to i)e very strong proofs that
he was afterwards tinctured with enthusiasm. It is im-
possible to suppose him a fanatic in the time of his elcva-
vation ; it were more reasonable to suppose him gradually
to have lost all sense of religion, and only to have pre-
76 C R O M W E L L.
served the mask of it, for the better carrying on his de«
signs, and managing the different parties, as we have be-
fore noticed. It is idle indeed to dispute on the religion
of a man who rose to greatness by a succession of actions,
both in conception and execution, radically criminal.
Clarendon mentions his speaking kindly of bishops, as if
there was something good in that order, if the dross was
scoured off ; and seems to think he was in earnest. But
the whole of his life proves that he was not steady to any
form of religion, supposing him to have retained any prin-
ciples at the bottom ; and there seems to be little doubt
that the true meaning of these flattering words, was, his
design to return to the old form of government; for what-
ever he intended, this was his great aim. He did not
overturn the constitution to leave it in ruins, but to set it
up again, and himself at the head of it; and though he
compared his own government at first to that of a high con-
stable, yet all he laboured at afterwards, was plainly to
get the chaos new formed, and his own authority sanctified
by the regal title, and the appearance of a legal parlia-
ment.
He had many children, of whom six, Richard, Henry,
Bridget, Elizabeth, Mary, and Frances, survived to ad-
vanced age. Richard, his eldest son, was born Oct. 4,
1626. His father has been censured for keeping him at a
distance from business, and giving him no employment ;
but for this perhaps there was not any just ground. He
married him to a daufjliter and coheir of Richard Major,
of Hunley, in Hampshire, esq. who brought him a good
fortune. He suffered him to pursue the bent of his incli-
nations, and to lead the life of a plain, honest, country
gentleman ; which for a time was highly suitable to his
own interest, as it seemed to correspond with the terms of
the Instrument of Government ; and with the dislike which
the protector, when first so called, liad expressed of he-
reditary right. When he had afterwards brought about a
change in affairs, he altered his conduct towards Jiis son ;
named him the first lord in his other house ; resigned to
him the chancellorship of Oxford ; and conferred upon him
all the honours he could. His weak and harmless reign is
well known. On his dismission from the protectorate, he
resided some time at Pezenas, in Langucdoc, and after-
wards went to Geneva. Sometime in 1G80, he returned
to England, and for some time took the name of Richard
CROMWELL. 77
Clark, and resided at Cheshunt, in Hertfordshire, where
he died July 13, 1712. In 1705 he lost his only son, and
became in right of him possessed of the manor of Horsley,
which had belonjied to his mother. Richard, then in an
advanced age, sent one of his daughters to take possession
of the estate for him. She kept it for herself and her
sisters, allowing her father only a small annuity out of it,
till she was dispossessed of it by a sentence of one of the
courts of VV'estminster-hall. It was I'equisite for this pur-
pose, that Richard should appear in person ; and tradition
says, that the judge who presided, lord Cowper, ordered
a chair for him in court, and desired him to keep on his
hat : this last circumstance appears wholly incredible. As
Richard was returning from this trial, curiosity led him to
see the house of peers, when, being asked by a person to
whom he was a stranger, if he had ever seen any thing like
it before, he replied, pointing to the throne, " Never since
I sat in that chair."
Oliver's second son, Henry, born Jan, 20, 1627, he
sent over into Ireland, where he raised him gradually to
the post of lord lieutenant. Though in tbis he seemed to
give him the preference to Richard, yet in reality he used
him more harshly ; for though his abilities were good, his
manners irreproachable, and his submission exemplary,
yet he paid no great deference to his recommendations,
and allowed him as little pouer as could well be imagined.
This son died March 25, IG74, having married a daughter
of sir Francis Russel, of Chippenham, in Cambridgeshire.
He was buried in the church of Wicken, in the same county,
in which Spinney-abbey, his mansion-house, stood, and
has tbis simple epitaph in the chancel : " Henricus Crom-
well de Spinney obiit 23 die Martii, anno Christi 1673,
annoque a:tatis 47." His lady died April 7, 1687, aged 52,
and was buried by him. Cromwell married all his daughters
well, and was kind to their husbands ; but it is said that he
gave them no fortunes, Bridget, his eldest, first married
commissary-general Ireton, and after his decease, lieutenant-
general Fleetwood. Cromwell is said never to have had
but one confidant, and that was Ireton, whom he placed
at the head of affairs in Ireland, where he died of the
plague in 1651, This daughter was a republican, as were
her two husbands, and consequently not quite agreeable
to her father ; otherwise a woman of very good sense, and
regular in her behaviour. By Ireton she had one daughter
78 CROMWELL.
of her own name, married to Mr. Bendish. Elizabeth,
his second and favouiite daugliter, uas born in 1630, and
married John Claypole, esq. a Northamptonshire gentle-
man, whom the protector made master of the horse,
created a baronet in 1657, and appointed him one of his
lords. Mary, his third daughter, born in 1636, was mar-
ried with great solemnity to lord Fauconberg, Nov. 18,
1657 ; but the same day more privately by Dr. Hewett, ac-
cording to the office in the common prayer-book. She
was a lady of great beauty, and of a very high spirit ; and,
after her brother Richard was deposed, is thought to have
promoted very successfully the restoration of king Charles;
for it is remarkable, that all Cromwell's daughters, except
the eldest, had a secret kindness for the royal family, of
which, however, he was not ignorant. Lord Fauconberg
was sent to the Tower by the committee of safety, and
was in very high favour with Charles IL He was raised
to the dignity of an earl by king William, and died Dec.
3 1, 1700. His lady survived him to March, 1712, and
distinguished herself to her death, by the quickness of her
wit and the solidity of her judgment. Frances, the pro-
tector's youngest daughter, was married first to Mr. Ro-
bert Rich, grandson to the earl of Warwick, in 1657, who
died Feb. Ibth following; and, secondly, to sir John
Russel, of Chippenham, in Cambridgeshire, by whom she
had several children, and lived to a great age.'
CRONSTEDT (Axel Fuederic), a Swedi.sh mine-
ralogist, and one of the first who improved that science
by applying chemistr}' in the decomposition of mineral
substances, was born in Sudermania in 1722, and educated
at the university of Upsal, where he joined to his other
studies, an uncommon predilection for natural history, and
especially mineralogy, which was the cause of his being
much employed in tlie royal college of mines, and being
frequentl}? sent to inspect those of Sweden and Norway.
In 1753 he was elected a member of the academy of Stock-
holm, and contributed several papers on mineralogical
subjects, particularly on nickel, which, by some expe-
riments made in 1751 and 1754, he showed to contain a
new semi-metal, or at least that a rei{ulus different from all
' Biog. Frit. — History ai England. — A miuute account of Cromwell's Bio-
graphers may be seen in Mr. Nobit^'s Memoirs, vol. I. p. '■2\)X ; atul much iiifor-
matioii of every kind in tliese voiviines.
C R O N S T E D T. -y
others was obtainable from its ore. Cronstedt died Auji.
19, 1765. His principal work, which is well known in this
country by translations, was " An Essay towards a System
of Mineralogy," originally published in 1758, translated
from the Swedish by Engestrom, and from that into Eng-
lish by Emanuel da Costa, 1770, 8vo. Of tiiis a second
edition, greatly improved by the addition of the modern
discoveries, and by a new arrangement of the articles, was
published at London in 1788, by John Hyacinth de Ma-
gellan, 2 vols. 8vo. '
CROOKE. SeeCROKE.
CROONE. See CROUNE.
CROSS, or DE LA CRUX (Michael), an English
artist, and famous copier of paintings, flourished in the
reigns of Charles L and Charles H. Being employed by
the first of these kings to copy several eminent pieces
in Italy, and having leave of the state of Venice to copy
the celebrated Madonna of Raphael in St. Mark's church,
he performed the task so admirably well, that he is said
to have put a trick upon the Italians, by leaving his copy,
and bringing away the original; and that several messen-
gers were sent after him, but that he had got the start of
them so far as to carry it clear off. This picture was after-
wards, in Oliver Cromwell's days, bought by the Spanish
ambassador, when the king's collection was exposed to
sale. Cross copied likewise Titian's Europe, and other
celebrated pieces, very successfully. He must be distin-
guished from Lewis Cross, who died 1724, and of whom it is
recorded that he re-painted a little picture of Mary queen of
Scots, in the possession of the duke of Hamilton, and was
ordered to make it as handsome as he could. He made
the face a round one. For many years it was believed
^n original, and innumerable copies have been made
from it."
CROSSE, or CROSS (John), a Franciscan friar and
popish missionary in England, was chaplain to king
James II. and followed the abdicated monarch to St.
Germain's in 1688, where he died a few years after. He
was esteemed to be a man of parts, and published : 1. " A
Sertnon before the king and queen at St. James's palace,"
1686. 2. " Cynosura, or the Miserere psalm paraphrased,"
thin folio. 3. " Divine Poems." 4. " Piiilothcus's Pil-
1 Diet. Hist, 9 Pilkinglon.— Walpole's Painters.
80 C R O U N E.
giimage to perfection, in a practice of ten days solitude,'*
Bruges, 1668.'
CROUNE, CROON, or CRONE (William), an emi-
nent physician and benefactor to the science, was born in
London, and educated at Emanuel college, Cambridge,
where he was admitted a pensioner Mny 13, 1647, and
took the decree of B. A. in 1 650. In 1651 he was elected
a fellow, and commenced M. A. in 1654, In 1659, being
now settled as a physician in London, he was chosen rhe-
toric professor in Gresham college, and at the first meeting
of the royal society, Nov. 28, 1660, was (Uiough absent)
appointed their register, whose business was to make mi-
nutes of what passed at their meetings. In this office he
remained till the grant of their charter, when Dr. Wilkins
and Mr. Oldenburg were nominated joint secretaries. On
Oct. 7, 1662, he was created M. D. at Cambridge, by ro\'al
mandate ; and in May 1663 was chosen one of the first fel-
lows of the royal society, and frequently afterwards was
one of the council. The same year he was admitted a
candidate of the college of physicians. In 1665 he tra-
velled into France, and became acquainted with several
eminent and learned pnen of that nation. In yVugust 1670,
he was chosen by the company of surgeons their lecturer
on anatomy, which he held to his deatii ; but this year he
resigned his Gresham professorship, which could be held
only by a bachelor, and soon after married Mary, daughter
of John Lorimer, of London, esq. In 1674 and 1675 he
read his " Theory of Muscular Motion," in the theatre of
Surgeons'-hall, an abstract of whicli was afterwards pub-
lished by Mr. Hooke in his " Philosophical Collections.'"
In July 1675, he was admitted a fellow of the college of
physicians, after he had waited for a vacancy upwards of
twelve years. He was much esteemed as a physician, and
came into great practice in the latter part of his life, on
which account the loss of him was much regretted by the
citizens of London. He died of a fever Oct. 12, 1684,
and was buried in St. Mildred's church in the Poultry, in
a vault belonging to the Lorimer family, with an inscrip-
tion on black nmrble, on the pavement in the chancel.
His funeral sermon was preached by Dr. John Scott, rector
of St. Peter-le-Poor, Broad-street, in which he gives him
a very high character, not only for learning, but those
1 Dodd's Ch, History, vol. III-^The Cat, Bibl, Bod!, calls Cross, Mckolat.
C R O U N E. 81
more amiable attributes of a pbysician, tenderness and
kindness to tlie poor. He died rich, and besides many-
benevolent legacies, left his medical books to the college
ot physicians, and his mathematical collection to Emanuel
college. His printed \V()rks are in the Philosophical
Transactions ; and many of his MSS. are in the British
Museum (see Ayscough's Cat. under the articles Crone,
Croon, and Croun). He printed separately only one
tract, " De ratione motus musculorum," Lond. 1664, 4to ;
Amst. 1667, 12mo, without his name in either edition. He
left to Emanuel and six other colleges at Cambridge, a sum
of money to found algebra lectures, which took place in
1710. This le<i[acv, althoufrh a continofent on the death of
his wife, was liberally settled by her in her life-time. He
also left a j)lan of an annual lecture on muscular motion
before the royal society, which was also carried into exe-
cution by Mrs. Croun. The first lecture was read in 1738,
by Dr. Alexander Stuart, physician to the queen, and has
been continued ever since. These lectures, for a consi-
derable number of years, have been regularly published
in the Philosophical Transactions, and have been drawn
up b}' the most eminent physiologists, who were members
of the societ}-, and contain a great collection of very cu-
rious and important facts, respecting the muscles and their
motions. The Crounian lecture is endowed with the pro-
fits of a house in Old Fish-street.*
CROUSAZ (John Peter de), an eminent philosopher
and mathematician, descended from a noble family, was
born at Lausanne, April 13, 1663. His father was Abra-
ham de Crousaz, colonel of a regiment of fusileers : in his
youth being of a very delicate habit, he was not too closely
confined to his studies, yet left school at the age of thir-
teen with the reputation of a good scholar. His father,
who intended him for the army, had him educated in the
branches of knowledge necessary for that profession ; but
finding him averse to any pursuit unless that of literature, he
allowed him to follow his inclination. In his fifteenth year
he completed his course of philosophy, and distinguished
himself by his theses, but being dissatisfied with the phi-
losophy then taught, he had recourse to the writings of
Des Cartes, which he studied with avidity, and applied at
1 Ward's Oresham Professors. — Dr. Scott's SvVmon, 4t.o. — ^Thomson's; Hist.
• f the Royal Sociatv.
Vol. XI. ' G
82 C R O U S zV Z,
the same time to mathematics, but scliolastic theology had
no more charms for him than the philosophy he had been
taught. In his sixteenth year, liowever, he entered as a
student of divinity, attended the l)est professors, both at
Geneva and Lausanne, and read the opinions of other
eminent divines on the subjects most involved in contro-
versy. In March 1682 he went to Leyden, made himself
acquainted with the theological disputes, and endeavoured
to investigate how far they could be deteru)ined by the
sacred scriptures. Leaving Holland, he entered France,
became acquainted with those celebrated protestant di-
vines Claude and Menard, at Charenton, and fathers
Malebranche and le Vassor at Paris, who in vain endea-
voured to bring him over to the Roman catholic churcli,
which Vassor himself forsook some years after. On his
return to liis native country, in J 684, Crousaz married the
daughter of John Lewis Loys, comptroller-general, and
soon after was ordained, and made honorary professor.
He officiated as pastor in the church of Lausanne f r four-
teen years. During this time, in 1691, he was appointed
to dispute for the professorship of Hebrew at Berne, which
he performed with great credit, h) 1699 he was made
professor of Greek and philosophy, and although also no-
minated to the chair of divinity in 1700, he preferred that
of philosophy. In 1706 he was appointed rector of the
college, which office he held three years, ai*d was again
appointed in 1722, but held it then only two years, as it
interfered too much with his literary engagements. It was
during: this second rectorate, that contests arose at Lau-
sanne respecting the obligation of signing the Consensus,
a formulary ot" faith and doctrine maintained in the pro-
testant cliurches of Swisserland, an account of which may
be seen in " Memoires pour servir a I'histoire des troubles
arrives en Suisse a Toccasion du Consensus," Amst. 1726;
and more brietty in Mosheim's History. In 1705, from hi&
own theses, and those published at the expence of the
lords of Berne, he compiled a system of logic, in twenty-
two theses, 4to, and in the same and two following years
published an abridgment of this. In 1712 he publisiied in
French, a system of logic, entitled " Systeme de re-^
flexions qui peuvent contribuer a la nettcte et a Tetude de
nos connoissances," Amst 2 vols. Svo, reprinted there in
1720, 3 vols. 12mo ; in 1725, in 4 vols. ; and in 1741, in
6 vols. In 1724 he published an abridgment of it in Latin,
c R o u s A z. as
at Geneva, " Systema Logicae, juxta principia ab autore
ill Gallico opere posita." Some conversations on the sub-
ject of beauty in art, led him to an investigation of the
subject, and produced in 1715, his " Trait6 du Beau, ou
I'on montre en quoi consiste ce que i'on nomnie ainsi, par
ties examples tires de la plupart des arts et des sciences,'*
reprinted at Amst. 2 vols. 12mo. In 1718, he published
an ironical work, " Nouvelles maximes sur l' Education des
enfans," Amst. 8vo ; but in 1722, his more serious and
better known work on Education, Hague, 1722, 2 vols.
12mo. In 1718 he answered the deistical Collins's dis-
course of Freethinking, in " Examen du traite de la libert6
de penser," Amst. 8vo. In the same year he published
his first mathematical work, " Geometric des lignes et des
surfaces rectiliones et circulaires," Amst, 2 vols. 8vo.
h^ 1724 he was invited to the professorship of mathe-
matics and philosophy at Grohingen, with a salary of
1500 Dutch florins; and when the lords of Berne granted
him permission to accept this office, they also allowed his
son to fill the chair at Lausanne for a year ; during which
he might see whether the air ofGrouingen agreed with
him. He departed accordingly, and in October took pos-
session of his new professorship with a discourse " De lo-
gical cum physica, et dc mathesKos cum utraque, et utri-
usque cum mathesi reciproco nexu," which was afterwards
printed. In 1726 he was chosen a foreign associate of the
royal academy of sciences at Paris, and the same year was
selected as tutor to prince Frederick of Hesse Cassel, which
occasioned him to remove to Cassel ; and he superintended
the education of his illustrious pupil until 1732, in which
year the king of Sweden made him counsellor of his em-
bassies. In September of the same year he went to Ge-
neva with his pupil, and after a year's residence there re-
turned to Lausanne. The king of Sweden sent him a very
polite letter of acknowledgement for the services he
had rendered the prince, who was the king's nephew,
and prince William of Hesse-Cassel, father to prince Fre-
derick, continued to Crousaz his pension of 884 crowns as
lonsr as he lived. In 1735 Crousaz was chosen a member
of the royal academy of sciences at Bourdeaux ; and in
1737 he was unanimously elected to the vacant professor-
ship of philosophy at Lausanne; and the lords of Berne
permitted him to employ a deputy when he found age and
infirmities creep on, and continued to him his title of pro-
G 2
84 C R O U S A Z.
« fessor and his salary, even when he was obliged to declirre
ail its duties. As late as 1740, however, we find that he
continued to enjoy health and activity, but died in Way
1750, deeply regretted as one of the ablest men of his
time, a man of great piety, and an acute and successlul
opponent of infidelity in every shape.
Besides the works already mentioned, he published, 1.
.*' Cinq Sermons sur la verite de la religion Chretienne,"
with a sixth on the plague at Marseilles, 1722, 8vo. 2.
" Nouveau volume des Sermons," 1723, 8vo. 3. " Sum-
nia Logical," Groningen, 1724. 4. " Compendium Logicie,"
Groningen, 1725. 5. " De physicne utilitate." 6, '* Ten-
tamen novum metaphysicuni." 7. " Reflexions sur I'usage
et sur Tabus du jeu." 8. " Sermon sur la gloire de ceux
qui connoissent I'evangile, et qui s'y soumettent." 9.
*' Essai de rhetorique contenu dans la traduction de quatre
harangues de Tite-Liv£.'* 10. " Essai sur le mouvement."
These last six articles were printed at Groningen in 1725.
11. "Reflexions sur rutiiitc des mathematiques," Amst.
1725. 12. " De mente humana, &c. dissert, phiiosophico-
theologica," Groningen, 1726, 12mo. 13. « Traite d'Al-
gebra," Paris, 1726. 14. " Examen du Pyrronisme ait-
cienne et moderne," Hague, 1734, fol. an able confutatioti
of Bayle and other free-tliinkers. 15. " Systeme de Lo-
gique abrege," with a preface on tiie use and abuse of
abridgments, Lausanne, 1735. 16. " Oeuvres diverses,''
.1737, 2 vols. 17. " Horatii logica," Lausanne, 1739. IH.
*'Traitede I'esprit huiwain, &c." Basil 1741, against Leib-
nitz and \'/olfl'. 19. " Reflexions sur la belie Wolfienne,"
1743, on the same subject. 20. Various prize dissertations
which received that honour in tlie academy of Bourdeaux.
21. " Dissertation sur le principe du mouvenient," to whicli
the academy of Paris adjudged the prize in 1720, printed
at Paris, 1722, 4to. 22. " Commentaire sur Tunalyse des
inlinimens petits."
Two of M. de Crousaz's publications yet remain, and
require particular notice: his "Examen de I'lLssai sur
I'homme, poeme de M. Pope," Lausanne, 1737; aud
" Commentaire sur la traduction en vers de M. Tabbe ilu
Resnel, de Tessai de M. Pope," Geneva, 1738, 12mo. In
these M. Crousaz accuses Mr. Pope of Spinosism and na^
turalism, and the first of them was immediately translated
into English by the celebrated Miss Carter, with some as-
sistance from Dr. Johnson, and published under the title of
C R O U S A Z. 85
«
An Examination of Mr. Pope's Essay on Man ; contain-
ing a succinct view of the system of the fatalists, and a con-
futation of their opinions ; with an ilkistr;\tion of the doc-
trine of free-will, and an inquiry what view Mr. Pope might
have in touching upon the Leibnitzian philosophy and fa-
talism," 1738, Svo. The other was translated under the
title of " A Commentary on Mr. Pope's Principles of Mo-
rality, or Essay on Man. By M. Crousaz ; with the abbe
du Resnel's translation of the Essay into French verse, and
the English interlined : also observations on the French,
Italian, and English Poetry," 1741, Svo. Pope, who had
got the principles of the Essay from Bolingbroke, and did
not understand them, would have made but a sorry figure
in this controversy had he not found in Warburton a vi-
gorous defender, although it is said that he had once writ-
ten a censure of the doctrines of the Essay on Man. He
now stept forth, however, with a defence, which was first
published in a monthly literary journal (The Republic of
Letters), but was .afterwards collected into a volume (1742,
12mo), written with more asperity than argument. " Crou-
saz," says Dr. Johnson, " was no mean antagonist; his
mind was one of those in which philosophy and piety are
happily united. He was accustomed to argument and dis-
quisition, and, perliaps, was growti too desirous of detect-
ing faults ; but his intentions were always right, his opi-
nions were solid, and his religion pure. His incessant vi-
gilance for the promotion of piety disposed him to look
with distrust upon all metaphysical systems of theology,
and all schemes of virtue and happiness purely rational ;
and therefore it was not long before he vvaj persuaded thac
the positions of Pope, as they terminated for the most part
in natural religion, were intended to draw mankind away
from revelation, and to represent the whole course of things
as a necessary concatenation of indissoluble fatality; and
it is undeniable, that in many passages a religious eye may
easily discover expressions no't very favourable to morals
or to liberty." The consequence to Pope was, that his
eyes were opened, and he was not a little pleased that by
" any mode of interpretation he could be made to meaa
well." To Warburton the consequences were more im-
portant ; Pope courted him, and ultimately got him a ricU
wife and a bishopric'
' Moreri. — Johnson's Lives. — iJichols'i Bowyer f^r a full account of the coo-
trovtrsy wiih Crousaz.
86 CROWLEY.
CROWLEY (Robert), a divine and poet, was born
either in Gloucestershire, or, according to Bale, in North-
amptonshire, and entered a student ot" Magdalen college,
Oxford, about the year 1534 ; and alter taking the degree
of B. A. vvas elected probationer fellow in 1542. In the
beginning of the reign of Edward VL he settled in London,
took a house in Ely-rents, Holborn, and there exercised
the trade of printer and bookseller, and being, we suppose,
in orders, occasionally preached ; but being at the same
time a zealous friend to the reformation, on the accession
of queen Mary he went with the other exiles to Franc-
fort, where he remained until the queen's death. After
his return to England he had several benefices bestowed
on him, among which were the archdeaconry, and a
prebend in Hereford, both which he resigned in 1567; a
prebend of St. Paul's, the rectory of St. Peter le Poor, and
the vicarage of St. Giles's Cripplegate ; but he was de-
prived of the latter, the only promotion which he appears
to have held at that time (1566), for a riot in the church,
because the choristers wore surplices. In 1576, however,
it appears that he vvas collated to the living of St. Lawrence
Jewry, and probably was now more reconciled to the cere-
monies and habits of the church. In 1578 he was pre-
sented with the freedom of the Stationers' company, and
soon after is found with the wardens, licensing copies.
He died June 18, 1588, and was buried in his former
church of St. Giles's. He vvas, according to Tanner, a
person of a happy genius, an eminent preacher, and a
zealous advocate for reformation. His works, both in prose
and verse, enumerated by Wood and Tanner, are now
merely objects of curiosity. In 1550 he printed the first
edition of " Pierce Plowman's Vision," with the view of
helping forward the reformation by the revival of a book
which exposed the absurdities of popery. He translated into
popular rhyme, not only the Psalter, but the Litany, with
hymns, all which he printed together in 1549. In the
same year, and in the same measure, he published " The
Voice of the Last Trumpet blown by the seventh angel,"
a piece containing twelve several lessons for the instruction
of all classes. He also attacked the abuses of his aG:e in
thirty-one " Epigrams," 1550, and twice reprinted. In the
same year he published a kind of metrical sermon on
** Pleasure and Pain, Heaven and Hell — Remember these
four, and all shall be well." In his *' Dialogue between
CROWLEY. 87
Lent and Liberty," written to prove that Lent is a super-
stitious institution, Mr. Warton thinks that the personifi-
cation of Lent is a bold and a perfectly new prosopopeia.
Crowley likewise wrote and printed in J 588, a rhyming
manual, " The School of Virtue and Book of Good Na-
ture," a translation, into metre, of many of the less excep-
tionable Latin hymns anciently used by the- catholics.
Among his prose works are " An Apology of those Kingiish
preachers and writers which Cerberus, the three-headed
doe of hell, chartreth with false doctrine under the name
of Predestination," 1566, 4to, and '' Brief Discourse con-
cerning those four usual notes whereby Christ's Catholic
Church is known," 1581, 4to, &c. In controversy he
was usually warm, and not nice in his language ; and in his
poetry he consulted usefulness rather than taste. '
CROWNE (Joiix), an American, was the son of an
independent minister in Nova Scotia*. Being a man of
some genius, and impatient of the strict education he re-
ceived in that country, he resolved upon coming to Eng-
land to try if he coidd not make his fortune by his wits.
When he first arrived here, his necessities were extremely
uro-ent: and he was oblisfcd to become gentleman usher to
an old independent lady ; but he soon grew as weary of
that office as he was of the discipline of Nova Scotia. He
set himself therefore to writing ; and presently made him-
self so known to the court and the town, that he was no-
minated by Charles II. to write " The Masque of Calisto.'*
This nomination was procured him by the earl of Roches-
ter, who designed by that preference to mortify Dryden.
Upon the breaking out of the two parties, after the pre-
tended discovery of the popish plot, the favour Crowme
was in at court induced him to embrace the tory party;
about' whicii time he wrote a com.edy called the " City
Politics," in order to expose the whigs. The lord cham-
berlain, Bonnet earl of Arlington, though secretly a pa-
pist, was unaccountably a friend to the whigs, from his
* Oldys give*: a rlifferent account, and wha, after holding: an office in the
and repifseiits liim as !he son of Wil- H<ralds' college, went with his family
liam CiMwn, who travelled with the to one of the plantations, wiure he
earl of Arundel to Vienna, and pub- died. Perhaps when he went there he
lished " A Relation of the remarkable took ou hitu the functions of a clergy-
places and pa^"sages observed in his man,
lordship's travels, &,c." 1637, 4to;
' Ath. Ox. vol. I. — Tanner and Bale. — Strype's Life of Parker, p. 21S.— •
Warton b Mist, of Poetry.
88 , C R O W N E.
hatred to the treasurer lord Darnley. Upon various pre-
tences the play was withheld from the stage ; at lust
Crowne had recourse to the king himself, and by his ma-
jesty's absolute command the play was acted. Though
Crowne ever retained a most sincere affection lo his royal
master, he was honest enongh to despise the servilities of
a court. He solicited the payment of money promised
him, which as soon as he obtained he became remiss in his
attendance at St. James's. The duchess of Portsmouth
observed this conduct, and acquainted the king with it.
The gay monarch only laughed at the accusation, and per-
haps in his mind jnstitied Crowne's sincerity.
About the latter end of this reign, Crowne, tired out
with vvrltino:, and desirous of shelterinir himself from the
resentment of many enemies he had made by his " City
Politics," ventured to address the king himself, for an
establishment in some olHce, that might be a security to
him for life. The king answered, " he should be provided
for ;" but added, *' that he Vvould first see another comedy.'*
Crowne endeavoured to excuse himself by telling the king,
that " he plotted slowly and awkwardly." His majesty
replied, that "he would help him to a plot;" and put into
his hand the Spanish comedy called " Non pued esser,"
out of which Crowne took the comedy of " Sir Courtly
Nice." The play was just ready to appear, and Crowne
extremely delighted to think that he was going to be made
happy the remaining part of his life, by the performance
of the king's promise ; when, upon the last day of the re-
hearsal, he met Underbill the player coming from the
house, who informed him of the king's death. This event
ruined Crowne ; who had now nothing but his wits to live
on for the remaining part of his life. On them, however,
he contrived to live at least until 1703, but it is not cer-
tain when he died. He was the author of seventeen plays,
some of which were acted with great success ; of a romance
called " Pandion and Amphigeria ;" and a burlesque poem
called " Dccneids," 1692, 4to, partly imitated from Boi-
ieau's " Lutrin," which last he translated in Dryden's
JNliscellany. The editor of the Biographia Dramatica as-
signs him the third rank in dramatic merit, which seems
rather more than his plays will justify. His merit, such
as it was, lay in comedy, for his tragedies are wretched.
IJryden, who, notwithstanding his high fame, was not
wholly free from the jealousy of rivals, and even of such a
C R O W M E. 89
rival as Crowne, used to compliment him when any of his
jjhiys failed, but was cold to him if he met with success.
IJc used also to say that Crowne had some genius, but
tlieu lie always added, that " his father and Crowne's mo-
ther were very well acquainted." For this bit of gossip,
related first by Jacob Tonson, we are indebted to Spence's
Anecdotes. Drydeii was evidently in good hutnour when
he thus endeavoured to account for Crowne's genius. '
CROXALL (Dr S.-muel), was the son of Samuel Crox-
all, rector of Hanworth in Middlesex, and Walton upon
Thames in Surrey, in the last of which places his son was
born. He received his early education at Eton school, and
thence was sent to St. John's coUefr^", in Cambridge. It is
said, that while he was at the university he became ena-
moured of Mrs. Anna Maria Mordaunt, who first inspired
his breast with love ; and to whom he dedicates " The
Fair Circassian," in a bombastic style, bordering on pro-
phaneness. Croxall was designed for orders, and had
})robably entered them when he published this poem,
which made him cautious of being known to be the author
of a piece so ludicrously written, and yet taken from a
book which makes a part of the canon of scripture. The
first specimen of this poem, under the title of " Solomon's
Song, chap, iv." appeared in Steele's Miscellany, 1713.
The first edition of tlie whole poem appeared in 1720, vvhea
it might have been expected he had acquired more re-
verence for the scriptures, or respect for his profession.
Croxall had not long quitted the university before he was
instituted to the vicarage of Hampton, in Middlesex ; and
afterwards, Feb. 1731, to the united parishes of St. Mary
Somerset and St. Mary Mounthaw, in London, both which
he held till his death. He was also chancellor, prebendary,
canon residentiary, and portionist of the church of Here-
ford; in 1732 was made archdeacon of Salop and chaplain
to the king; and in Feb. 1734 obtained the vicarage of
Selleck in Herefordshire. He died at an advanced age,
Feb. 13, 1752. Dr. Croxall, who principally governed the
church of Hereford during the old age of bishop Egerton,
pulled down the old stone chapel adjoining to the palace,
of which a fine plate was published by the society of anti-
> Cibl)ei-'s Liveis, vol. HI. — Maloiv's Dryden, vol. I. p. 123, 500, 501.—.
BiOfi;. Oititn. — Cfnsura Lileraria, vul. !. — Speiici 'i Auerdoles, MS. — Gent. Maf .
vol. XV p. 99. — Doiiiiis's Loiters, vol. 1. p. 48, I7'21. His Do^neid, or the
Churclt St.uiiJc, is iu Mr. NJcholi's Cullcctiya of I'oems, vol. III.
^0 C n O X A L L.
quaries in 1737, and with the j^atcrials built a house for
his hrotlier, JMr. llodney Croxali. Having early imbibed
a strong attachnsent to tlit; whig interest, he emphjyed his
pen in favour of that parry during the latter end of qneeo
Anne's reign ; and published " 1\vo original cantos, in
in)itation of Spenser's Fairy Queen," as a satire on the
carl of Oxford's adminisiration. In 1715 he addressed a
poem to the duke of Argyle, upon his obtaining a victory
over the rebels ; and the same year published " The Vi-
sion," a poem, addressed to the earl of Halifax. In 1720
he published "The Fair Circassian," in 4to ; in 1722, a
collection of *'■ Fables of j^sop and others, translated into
English," a work wtiich continues to be popular, probably
from its homely and almost vidg;ir style. He wrote all the
dedications prefixed to the " Select Novels," printed for
Watts, 1729 ; and was the author of " Scripture Politics,"
1735, 8vo. This is an account intended for common rea-
ders of the historical part of the Old Testament. His
latest publication was " The Royal Manual ;" in the pre-
face of which he endeavours to shew that it was composed
by the famous Andrew Marvel, found among his MSS. but
it was generally believed to be written by himself.
As a divine. Dr. Croxali seems entitled to little respect.
He owed his preferments to his political services. He
published, however, six single sermons, and while house
chaplain to the palace at Hampton court, preached a ser-
mon on a public occasion, in which, under the character
of a corrupt and vvicked minister of state, he was supposed
to mean sir Robert Walpole, who had intercepted some
ecclesiastical dignity which he wished to obtain. It was
expected that for this offence he would have been removed
from his chaplainship : but the court over-ruled it, as he
had always manifested himself to be a zealous friend to the
Hanover succession. To the list of his poems may be
added, an " Ode." inscribed to king George the First, on
liis landing to receive the crown ; and " Colin's Mistakes,"
formerly ascribed to Prior, but printed as Croxall's in Mr.
>3ichols's Collection. His having written the dedications
to the " Select Novell," printed for Watts in 1729, sug-
gested to some bookseller to afBx his name to a compila-
tion called '< The Tea-table Miscellany," 1766.'
CHOZE (Matiiuuin Veyssiere la), a learned French
writer, was born at Nantes, Dec. 4, 1661. His father,
» Biog. Brit. — Cibber's Live6, vol. V. — Nichols's Poems, vol. VII.
CROZE. 91
who was a merchant, was also a man of letters, and be-
stowed much pains on tlie education of his son, who an-
swered his expectations by the proficiency he made in
cla."«sical studies. He had, however, provided him with a
private tutor, who happened to disgust him by the severity
of his manners, and upon this account partly, at the age
of fourteen, he desired to take a voyage to some of the
West India islands, to which his father traded ; but his
princij)al inducement was what he had read in books of
voyaf^es, and the conversation of persons who had been in
America, all which raised his curiosity to visit the new
world. He embarked on board a French ship, with no
other books than Erasmus's Colloquies, and the Gradus ad
Parnassum. His passage was not unpleasant, and during
his residence at Guadaloupe he borrowed all the Latin
books he could discover, and read them with avidity ; but
the chief advantage he seems to have derived here was an
opportunity to learn the English, Spanish, Itahan, and
Portuo-uese lan<iua2:es. To these he afterwards added an
acquaintance with the German, Sclavonic, and Anglo-
Saxon ; and studied with much attention the ancient and
modern Greek, the Hebrew, Syriac, Coptic, Armenian,
Hebrew, Arabic, and even the Chinese, On his return to
Nantes in 1677, he found his father's affairs somewhat de-
ranged, and was obliged to take a part in the business. ,
Medicine appears to have been first suggested to him as a
profession, but he found little inclination for that study ;
and some conferences he happened to have with the Be-
nedictines of the conorefration of St. Manr determined him
to enter their society. He accordingly made his noviciate
in 1678, and applied himself to the study of theology. In
1682 he formally became a member of the congregation.
His residence at Paris, in the abbey of St. Germain des
Pres, the vast number of books within his reach, and par-
ticularly of n)anuscripts, increased his knowledge and his
thirst for knowledoe, and some of his earliest labours were
bestowed in preparing materials, collecting MSS. &c. for
new editions of the works of St. Clement of Alexandria,
and St. Gregory Na^-ianzen. But these were interrupted
by certain differences which occurred in the abbey to
which he belonged, and of which we have various ac-
counts. The prior of St. Germain, father Loo, had a
great aversion to the study of classical and polite literature,
and was for confining the members to the strict religious
9J CROZE.
duties of the; bouse. This could not fail to be disfjust-
ing to a man of La Croze's taste : but, liccording to
other accounts, whicii seem more probable, he began
to entertain religious scruples about this time (16.96), which
induced him to uithdiaw himself. It is said that his
superiors found among his pape-s a treatise against tran-
substantiation in his hand-vvritintj, and which thev believed
to be his composition ; but they discovered afterwards that
it was a translation from the English of htillingfieet. Some
other manuscripts, however, sufficiently proved that he
had changed his opinion on religious matters ; and the
dread of persecution obliged him to make his escape to
Basil, which he successfully accomplished in May 1696.
Here he renounced tlie Roman catliolic religion, and as
his intention was to take up his residence, he was matri-
culated as a student of the colleije of Basil. He remained
in this place, however, only till Septem.ber, when he de-
parted, provided with the most honourable testimonies of
his learning and character from Buxtorf, the Hebrew pro-
fessor, and VVerenfels, dean of the faculty of theology.
He then went to Berlin, where his object was to secure a
fixed residence, devote himself to study, and endeavour to
forget France. In order to introduce himself, jje began
with offering to educate young men, the sons of protestant
parents, which appears to have answered his purpose, as
in 1697 we find him appointed librarian to the king of
Prussia ; but his biographers are not agreed upon the
terms. To this place a pension was attached, but not suf-
ficient to enable him to live without continuing his school ;
and some assert that he was very poor at this lime. The
probability is, that his circumstances were improved as he
became better known, and his reputation among the learned
was already extensive. In June of 1697 he went to Franc-
fort to visit the literati of tha: place, and their fine library,
and visited also Brandcnburgh for the same purpose. In
November 1697 (or, as Chaufepie says, in 1702), he mar-
ried Elizabeth Rose, a lady originally of Dauphiny, and
thus, adds one of his Roman catholic biograi)hers, com-
pleted the abjuration of the true, religion. In 1698 he first
commenced author, and from time to time published those
works on which his fame rests. Soon after he became ac-
quainted with the celebrated Leibnitz, with whom he car-
ried on an intimate correspondence. In 17 13 he went to
Hamburgh, where he paid many visits to the learned Fu-
CROZE. 9$
biicius, and in liis letters speaks with great warmth of the
pleasure tliis journey afforded ; but tliis year, 1713, was
not in other respects a very fortunate one to La Croze,
and he formed tiie design of quitting Germany. He had
been appointed tutor to the margrave of Schwel, and this
employment terminating in 17 1 4, he lost the pension an-
nexed to it, and was reduced to considerable difhculties,
of which he wrote to Leibnitz, as to a friend in whcmi h?
could confide. Leiljiiitij, by way of answer, sent him a
copy of a letter which he had written to M. BernsdorfF,
prime minister to the elector of Hanover, in his behalf.
The ohjcct likely to be attained hy this interest was a pro-
fessorsliip at Helmstadt ; but as it required subscripiion to
the articles of the Lutheran church, i\L la Croze, not-
withstanding the persuasions Leibnitz employed, declined
accepting it. His affairs, however, soon after wore a more
promising aspect, partly in consequence of a prize he
gained in the Dutch lottery. Li 17 17 he had the honour
to be engaged as private tutor to the princess royal of
Prussia, afterwards margravine of Bareuth. In 1724, for
several months his studies were interrupted by a violent fit
cl the gravel ; and on his recovery, the queen of Prussia,
who ahvay:5 patronized La Croze, obtained for him the
professorship of philosophy in the French college at Berlin,
vacant by the death of M. Chauvin. This imposed on him
the necessity of drawing up a course of philosophy, but as
he never intended to print it, it is said not to have been
executed with the care he bestowed on his other works.
In 1 713 father Bernartl Pez, the Benedictine, made him
liberal offers if he would return to the church he had for-
saken, but this lie declined with politeness, offering the
arguments which influenced his mind to remain in the pro-
testant chui'ch. In 1739 an inflammatioa appearetl on his
leg, which in April pat on appearances of mortification,
but did not prove fatal until May 21. About a quarter of
an hour before his death he desired his servant to read the
51st and 77th psalms, during which he expired, in the
seventy -first year of his age. He was reckoned one of
t[ie most learned men of his time, and was frequently called
a living li})rary. So exteu'^lve v;as his reading, and so
vast his memory, that no one ever consulted him without
obtaining prompt informatir)n. In dates, facts, and re-
ierences he v/as correct and ready. We have already no-
ticed how many languages he had learned, but it appears
34 CROZE.
that he made the least procuress in the Chinese, to which
Leibnitz, in his letters, is perpetually urging him. The
greater part of his life was employed in study, and lie had
no other pleasures. There was scarcely a book in his li-
brary which he had not perused, and he wrote MS notes
on most of them. His conversation could not fail to be
acceptable to men of literary research, as his memory was
stored with anecdotes, which he told in a very agreeable
manner. He was conscientiously attached to the prin-
ciples of the reformed religion. He had always on his
table the Hebrew Psalter, the Greek Testament, and Tho-
mas a Kempis in Latin : the latter he almost had by heart,
as w^ell as Buchanan's Psalms. His consistent piety and
charity are noticed by all his biographers.
It may be necessary to notice that he has been some-
times confounded, and especially in Germany, with Con-
rand de la Croze, who lived for some time in Holland, and
wrote part of the first nine volumes of the " Bibliotheque
Universelle," and the whole of vol. XL From tliese a 4to
volume was published in London in 1693, under the title
of " Memoirs for the ingenious," but the two authors were
nowise related.
The principal works of the subject of this memoir are :
1. " Dissertations historiques sur divers sujets," Rotter-
dam, 1707, 8vo, called vol. I. but no move vvere published.
It contains three dissertations, the first on Socinianism and
JVlahometanism, stating the connexion between them : the
second, an exauunation of father Hardouin's opinions on
ancient authors ; and the third, on the ancient and modern
state of religion in India. 2. " Vindicia) Veterum ^cripto-
rum, contra Hardouinum," ibid. 1708, 8vo. 3. " Entretiens
sur divers sujets d'histoire," Cologne (Amsterdam)) 8vo, con-
taining conversations with a Jew, a dissertation on atheism,
and an attack on Basnage, which La Croze's biographer,
Jordan, thinks too severe. The dissertation on atheism was
translated into English, and published 1712. 4. " Histoire
du Christianisme des Indes," Hague, 1721, Svo, a work
which contributed greatly and deservedly to his reputation.
5. " Histoire du Christianisme d'Ethiope & d'Arn)enie,"
ibid. 1739, Svo, inferior to the former, but containing
much curious information. Besides many smaller disserta-
tions and letters in the literary journals, JM. Croze was the
author of various works left in MS, one of which, " Lexi-
fcon i^gyptiaco-Latinum," was published by Woide, at
-CROZE. 95
Oxford, in 1775, 4to, and professor Ulil published his
currejipoiulence in 3 vols. 4to, Lei|)sic ; " Thesauri Fpis-
tohci Liicroziaui, toui. 111. ex bihlioiheca Jurdauiana,"
1742—1746.'
CRUCIGKR (Caspar), one of the contributors to the
reformation in Germany, was born at Leipsic, Jan. I, 1504.
In his youth he was of a retired melanchol}' cast, but
made great prf)gr«.;s« in chissical learning, and afterwards
in divinity, which he studied at Witiemberg under Mosel-
lanus and Richard Croke (See Croke), an! had for liis
fellow student tl)e learned Camerarius, who says, that al-
though he appeared to his companions of a dull capacity,
he laid in a greater stock of learning than any of them.
In 1524 he went to Magdeburgi), and taught school for
two years ; and on his return to Witteaiberg he was ap-
pointed to expound the scriptures, and to preach in the
church near the castle, and was admitted to his doctor's
degree. Here he also aj)plied his mind to the study of
medicine, pharmacy, and botany, and laid out two gar-
dens with a groat variety of curious and useful plants.
Having contracted an intimacy with Luther, he joined him in
his efforts to promote the reformation, and assisted him in
the translation of the Bi'ole. In 1540, in the disj)ute at
Worms with Eckius, &c. he was chosen secretary; and
Glanvil, who represented the emperor in this a-ssembly,
said of him that he had more learniu'r than all the Ponti-
ficians, or Romanists. In disputing he aimed at great
perspicuitv, and disliked ne.v and ani!)iguou3 expressions.
To his otiier studies he joined a very intimate acquaintance
with mathematics, was a master of Euclid, and himself in-
vented or improved various astronomical instruments. In
1546 he was chosen rector of the college of Wittemberg,
and sustained almost alone the whole weight of managing
its concerns, by which, added to his um'emitting studies,
his health became injured, and his strength so much im-
paired, that he died of a decline Nov. 16, 1548, in the
forty- fourth year of his age. During his sickness, he em-
ployed himself in reading, and exhorting his family and
friends, who came to see him, to adhere to the principles
he had professed and taught. He published some com-
mentaries on the gospel of St. John, the epistle to Timothy,
• Chatifepie. — Moreri.— Jordar.'i L fe of La Croze, Amst. 1741. — Montnly
Eeview, to!. LX. p, 1.
D6 C K U C I G E R.
and the Psalms in German : " Enarrationcs in duos artirtr-
los Symboli Niceni;" and " Ovatio de ordine disceiuli."
Some of these are to be t'oiind amonfr Melanchton's works.*
CRUClGEll (George), of tiie same family with the
preceding, was also of the reformed religion, and a man
of great learning. He was born at Mersburgh Sept. 24,
1575, and was educated at Nassau, Leipsic, VVittemberg,
and Heidelberg; and in 1600 was appointed schoolmaster
at Cassel. In 1G05 he was promoted to the professorship
of logic at Marpurg, and about three years after received
bis doctor's degree, and became rector of the college, and
afterwards dean of the faculty of theology. He died in
1636. His only, or principal publication, is a very
learned and curious work, entitled " Harmonia Linguarum
quatuor Cardinalium, Hebraica^, Latiuae, et Gcrmanicae,'*
Fraiicfort, 1616, fol. In this work the author endeavours
to prove that the Hebrew is the y)arent of the Greek, L.atin,
and German languages, and although he indulges perhaps
a little too much in etymological conjecture, he is fre-
quently successful, and always ingenious. All bibliogra-
phers mark this a book of rare occurrence, but we have
just seen a copy in the late Dr. Gosset's valuable library,
so'd for a few shillinsjs. "
' CRUCIUS (James), or, as he signs in his French letters.
La Croix, a learned Dutchman, was born at Delft, about
the end of the sixteenth century, and was first educated
under the elder Trelcatius at Leyden, and afterwards at
Franeker, where he studied divinity,, Hebrew, and Greek,
under Drusius, &c. He also read history, philosophy,
and poetry, and occasionally amused himself with writing
Latin poetry. He became pastor at Delft, the only situa-
tion he appears to have held in the church. When he
died is not mentioned by Foppen or Moreri ; and the little
we know of him is gleaned from his curious volume of
miscellanies and epistolary correspondence, the best edi-
tion of which was published at Amsterdam, 1661, 12mo,
under the title of " Jacobi Crucii Mercurius Batavus, sive
epistolarum opus, monitis theologicis, ethicis, politicis,
ceconomicis, refertuni, editio aucta et recognita." This
work is replete with judicious remarks, and literary aiiec-
dote, and contains many letters from Kivet, Colviusj
> Melchior Adatn. — Freheri Theatrum, — Fuller's Abel Reilivivus. — Saxii'
Onomasticon.
■^ Freheri Theatruiii. — Morhoff I'olyhist. — Clement Bibl. Curieusc.
C R U C I U S. 97
Lanoy, Salmasius, Vossius, and other learned contempora-
ries. The freedom of some of Crucius's observations pro-
cured it a place in the Index Expurgatorius, Jan. 25, 1G84.
He published also " Suada Delphica, sive orationes LXIX.
varii argumenti, ad usum studios^ juventutis," Amst. 1675,
12ni(), and often reprinted.*
CRLDKN (Alexander), author of an excellent "Con-
cordance of the Bible," was born in 1701 at Aberdeen,
where he received his grammar learning : he afterwards
studied at Marischal college, with a view of entering the
church. Unfortunately, before the period arrived when
he could be admitted to officiate as a public instructor,
such decided symptoms of insanity ap])eared in his con-
duct, as rendered continement necessary. This afterwards
settled in a kind of belief that he was delegated by Hea-
ven to reform a guilty world ; and his conduct in a thou-
sand instances demonstrated an ardour and zeal for the
good of his fellow-creatures, that merited the highest ap-
plause. Thrice, however, he was shut up in a private
madhouse, in which, if the nature of his disease did not
lead him to exaggeration, he was cruelly treated. Once
indeed he brought his action against a respectable physi-
cian, and other persons connected with him ; the cause
was tried, and Cruden was unable to make out a case.
The verdict was given in favour of the defendants ; and
his appeal to the public was not of a kind to set aside that
verdict, although he certainly suffered much more harsh
treatment than was necessary. On his release from his
first confinement, which was in his native place, he came
to London, and engaged in some respectable families as
private tutor. In the same employment he spent some
years in the isle of Man ; and in 1732 he opened a shop in
London, under the Royal Exchange, as bookseller, and
employed all his vacant time as a corrector of the press.
In the following year he began to compile his great work,
viz. " A complete Concordance of the Holy Scriptures of
the Old and New Testament." We can scarcely conceive
any literary work that required more patient labour than
this, and few have been executed with greater accuracy.
He had nearly executed the whole before he looked for
public remuneration. The first edition was published in
1737, and dedicated to queen Caroline, who had led the.
} Moreri. — Foppen Bibl, Belg^.
Vol. xr. H
OS CRUDER
editor to expect her patronage ; but her majesty unfor-
tunately died a few days before the work could be got
ready. The author's affairs were now embarrassed ; Ije
had none to look to for assistance, and in a fit of despon-
dence he gave up his trade, and became a prey to melan-
choly. Shortly after this, he assumed the title of " Alex-
ander the Corrector," maintained that he was divinely
commissioned to reform the manners of the age, and re-
store the due observance of the sabbath, appealing to pro-
phecy, in which he fancied he saw his own character deli-
neated. He sought, however, for earthly honours, and
requested of his majesty the dignity of knighthood, and
earnestly solicited his fellow-citizens to elect him member
for the city of London. Both were deaf to his entreiities,
and he turned from public offices to duties for which he
was better qualified. He laboured almost incessantly,
sometimes in works of pure benevolence, and at others as
corrector of the press, and seldom allowed himself more
than four or five hours for sleep. In 1770, after paying a
visit to Aberdeen, he returned to London, and took lodg-
incrs at Islington, where he died November the first. In
private life Mr. Cruden was courteous and affable, ready
to assist all that came within his reach, as well with his
money as with his advice, and most zealous in serving the
distressed. One of his boldest efforts of this kind was in
the case of Richard Potter, a poor ignorant sailor, who was
condemned at the Old Bailey for uttering a forged sea-
man's will, and who, in Mr. Cruden's opinion, was so
justly an object of the royal clemency, that he never
ceased his applications to the secretary of state until he
had obtained a pardon. The following year, 1763, he
published a very interesting account of this affair, under
the title of " The History of Richard Potter," 8vo. His
other publications were, " An Account of the History and
Excellencj' of the Scriptures," prefixed to a " Compen-
dium of the Holy Bible/' 24mo ; and " A Scripture Dic-
tionary, or Guide to the Holy Scriptures," Aberdeen, 2
vols. 8vo ; printed a short time after his death. He also
compiled that very elaborate Index which belongs to bishop
Newton's edition of Milton, an undertaking inferior only
to that of his " Concordance," and which he .undertook at
the request of auditor Benson. Of his Concordance an
edition was published in 1<S10, which may be justly pro-
nounced the most correct that has appeared since the au-
C R U D E N. 99
thoi*s time, every word with its references having been
most carefully t'xaniined by Mr. Deodutiis Bye, formerly a
respectable printer in St. John's gate, who voluntarily em-
jiloyed some years in this arduous task, for which he is
richly entitled to the thanks of the public*
CRUIK8HANK (William), an eminent surgeon and
anatomist, was born in 1745 at Edinburgh, where his fa-
tlier was examiner in the Excise-office, and had him chris-
tened William Cumberland in compliment to the hero of
Culloden, but the latter name our anatomist seldom used.
The earlier part of his life was spent in Scotland, and at
the age of fourteen he went to the university of Edinburgh,
with a view of studying divinity. Feeling, however, a
strong propensity for anatomy and physic, he studied those
sciences, with great assiduity, for eight years at the uni-
versity of Glasgow. In 1771 he came to London, and by
the recommendation of Dr. D. Pitcairn he became librarian
to the late Dr. Hunter, who had applied to the professors
of Glasgow for a young man of talents to succeed Mr.
Hewson ; and this connection was the principal means of
raising Mr, Cruikshank to that conspicuous situation which he
afterwards so well merited. During the life of Dr. Hunter,
Mr. Cruikshank became successively his pupil, anatomical
assistant, and partner in anatomy ; and on the death of
that celebrated man, Mr. Cruikshank and Dr. Baillie re-
ceived an address from a large proportion of Dr. Hunter's
students, full of affection and esteem ; which induced them
to continue in Windmill-street the superintendance of that
anatomical school which has produced so many excellent
scholars. Mr. Cruikshank, besides supporting with great
reputation his share in this undertaking, made himself
known to the world by some excellent publications, which
have insured to him a high character as a perfect anatomist,
and a very acute and ingenious physiologist. In 1780 he
published his principal work, the " Anatomy of the Ab-
sorbent Vessels in the Human Body," in which he not
only demonstrated, in the clearest manner, the structure
and situation of these vessels, but collected, under one
point of view, and enriched with many valuable observa-
tions, all that was known concerning this important system
in the human body. Besides this work, the merit of which
• Life of Cruden prefixed to his Concordance, edit. 1810, and originally
Trritten tor the Biog. Brit, by the editor of iliis Dicionavy.
H 2
100 C R U I K S H A N K.
has been fully acknowledged by translations into foreign
languages, he wrote a paper, which was presented to the
royal society several years ago, entitled, " Experiments
on the Nerves of Living Animals," in which is shewn the
important fact of the regeneration of nerves, after portions
of them have been cut out ; illustrated by actual experi-
ments on animals. This paper was read before the society,
but not then printed, owing, as was said, to the interfere
ence of the late sir John Pringle, who conceived that it
controverted some of the opinions of Haller, his intimate
friend. It appeared, however, in the Society's Transac-
tions for 1794. In 1779 he made several experiments on
the subject of " Insensible Perspiration," which were added
to the first editions of his work on the " Absorbent Ves-
sels;" and were collected and published in a separate pam-
phlet in 1795. In 1797, the year in which he was elected
F. R. S. he published an account of appearances in the
ovaria of rabbits, in different stages of pregnancy ; but
his fame rests upon, and is best supported by, his " Anato-
my of the Absorbents/' which continues to be considered
as the most correct and valuable work on the subject now
extant.
Mr. Cruikshank was not without some share of personal
as well as intellectual vanity ; but he had a generous and
sympathetic heart, and literally *' went about doing good."
He was one of those liberal medical gentlemen who at-
tended Dr. Johnson in his last illness. Mr. Cruikshank's
death was occasioned by a disorder, the fatal consequences
of which had been predicted by one of his pupils about
sixteen years before that event. He used at certain times
to complain of an acute pain in the apex of his head, and
his pupil gave it as his opinion that the pain arose from
extravasated blood, which was settled upon the se7isorium ;
and that as no relief could be given without the greatest
care in point of regimen, it would increase until it was too
heavy for the tender nerves or organs of the medulla oblon-
gata to bear; of course, it would occasion a rupture, and
end in dissolution. When Mr. Cruikshank found him-
self in most excruciating pain, he sent for this gentleman,
and every assistance was given ; but the seat of the com-
plaint, being directly under the pia matei\ could not be
touched. In this situation he breathed his last, July 27,
J 800. The pericranium being afterwards opened, a quan-
C R U I K S H A N K. 101
tity of extraVasated blood was found upon the sensoriuinf
some of the tender vessels of which were ruptured. '
CRUSIUS (Christian), professor of eloquence at Wit-
temberg, and an eminent philologer, was born at Wol-
becli, where his father was a clergyman, in 1715. He was
first educated at Hall, whence he removed to Leipsic, and
studied polite literature under Mascovius. His principal
attachment was to the classics, which he read with the eye
of a critic and antiquary. While at Leipsic, he contri-
buted some of his lirst remarks on classical history and an-
tiquities to the " Acta Eruditorum." In 1738 he left
Leipsic for Dresden, where he became acquainted with
Juncker, and by his persuasion went to St. Petersburg, and
became a member of the academy of history founded by
Peter the Great, and afterwards succeeded Beyer in the
same academy. His situation here was for some time
agreeable, and his fame spread ; but the stipend affixed
to his place in the academy being irregularly paid, and
Crusius being little attentive to pecuniary matters, his
studies became interrupted, and his mind harassed, and
his object now was to procure some place in Saxony where
he could pursue his studies in comfort. For this purpose
he consulted Gesner, who promised him every assistance;
and in 1751, on the death of Berger, he was elected pro-
fessor of eloquence at Wittemberg. Here for some time
he fulfilled the utmost hopes of the friends by whose in-
terest he had been elected ; but having while at St. Peters-
burgh contracted habits too social for a man of learning,
he now indulged them to such a degree as to obstruct his
usffulness, expose himself to ridicule, and lessen his au-
thority. He died Feb. 1767, according to Klotz his bio-
grapher, regretting his past imprudence, and with pious
resignation. The failings of this accurate critic are much
to be lamented, as but for them be would have probably
attained the highest class in philology. His writings are:
1. " Commentarius de originibus pecuniae a pccore ante
rummum signatum : accedit ejusdem oratio habita in con-
ventu Academico, cum auspicaret munus Professoris,'*
Petrop. 174S, 8vo. 2. " Probabilia critica, in quibus ve-
teres Graeciet Latini scriptoresemendantur ^ declarantur,'*
Leipsic, 1753, 8vo, This collection of criticisms and
emendations on the classics, chiedy contributed to our
> Gent. Mag. 1800.— Rees's Cyclopaedia.
102 C R U S I U S.
author's fame. 3. " OjDuscula ad historiam et humanitatis
literas spectantia," Altenburgh, 17G7, with a biographical
preface by Klotz, to wliich we are indebted for this sketch
of the life of Crusius. Besides these, Crusius contributed
various dissertations to the German journals, a list of wtiich
may be seen in Harles.*
CRU8IUS or KRAUS (Martin), a learned German
scholar and antiquary, was born at Grebern, in the bi-
shopric of Bamberg, Sept. 19, 1526, and after some ele-
mentary instruction from l)is father, a minister of the
Lutheran church, was sent to Ulm, where he studied
Greek and Latin under Gregory Leonard, and by his dili-
gence and progress obtained a pension from the senators
of Ulm, which enabled him to pursue his studies without
expense to his father. In 1545 he went to Strasburgh,
where, after applying for some time to polite literature,
he learned Hebrew, and went through a course of divinity,
still liberally maintained by the city of Ulm; and in 1547
was appointed tutor to a person of rank. Some years after,
he presided over the school at Memmingen, and raised its
reputation very considerably. In 1559 he was chosen pro-
fessor of moral philosophy and Greek at Tubingen ; but
in 1566 was obliged to leave it on account of the plague,
and did not return, along with the other professors, until
1568. At the age of eighty -one, perceiving that he was
near his end, he assembled the whole university, with the
rector at its head, and after entertaining them sump-
tuously, gave them a goblet worth an hundred florins.
He died Feb. 25, 1607, leaving a library which was valued
at 2000 florins. Besides the learned languages, he was a
good French scholar, but was most distinguished for his
acquaint vnce with the modern Greek, and was the first
who taught it in Germany. Of his numerous works, the
following are the most important : 1. " Turco-Grjcciae
libri octo, utraque lingua edita. Quibus Graecorum status
sub imperio Turcico, in politia et ecclesia, ceconomia et
scholis, jam inde ab amissa Constantinopoli, ad hsec usque
tempora, luculenter describitur," Basil, 1584, folio. 2.
*' Acta et Scripta Theologorum Wirtembergensium, et
Patriarchae Constantinopolitani D. Hieremise ; quit utrique
ab anno 1576 usque ad annum 158 J de Augustana Con-
fessione inter se miserunt," Gr. & Lat. 1584, fol. 3. " Ger-
* Hailes de Vitis Philologorum, vol. IV.— Suxii Ouomasticon.
C R U S I U S. 103
mano-Grceciae libri sex : in quorum prioribus tribiis, Ora-
tiones, iu reliquis Carauna, Gr. & Lat. continentur," fol.
without date, but from the dedication, probably 1585.
4. " Annales Suevici, sive Chronica rerum gestarum an-
tiquissimse et inclyta; Suevica; Gentis quibus quicquid fere
de ea haberi potuit, ex Lat. & Graec. aliarumque lingua-
rum auctoribus, scriptisque plurimis, non editis, coniprehen-
ditur, &c." 1595 and 1596, 2 vols. fol. These works, which
are now rare, are highly esteemed, and throw much light
on history, and particularly on the history of the modern
Greeks. One other work of Martin Crusius may be men-
tioned as a curiosity : " Corona Anni, hoc est, explicatio
Evangeliorum et Epistolarum qua; difbus dominicis et
festis in ecclesia proponuntur; e Tubingeusium, et aliorum
Theologorum concionibus, conscripta," Wittemberg, 1602,
4 vols. 4to. From 1563 he had been accustomed to write
in the church the sermons of the preachers of Tubingen,
which he did first in Latin, but when professor of Greek,
he thought it his duty to use that language, and with such
indefatigable perseverance, that, between 1563 and 1601,
he had made a collection of those discourses, amounting to
6174, and published some of them in other volumes, and
would have published more, if he could have found any
persons who would defray the expence. The work before
us he had in vain offered to the booksellers at different
times for seven years, and at length the court of Saxony
bore the expence of printing. It contains 5 16 sermons in
Greek and Latin, in double columns. This singular un-
dertaking had not, as may be supposed, much success ;
and the t\:\v copies which exist are considered rather as
objects of curiosity than utility.'
CTESIAS, an ancient historian, was a nativeof Cnidos,
who accompanied Cyrus the son of Darius in his expe-
dition against his brother Artaxerxes ; by whom he was
taken prisoner about 400 B. C. But curing Artaxerxes
of a wound he received in the battle, he became a great
favourite at the court of Persia, where he continued prac-
tising- physic l"or seventeen years, and was employed in
several negotiations. He wrote the " History of Persia,"
in 23 books; and a " History of the Indies;" but these
works are now lost, and all we have remaining of them is
> Moreri.— Clfox^iit Bibl. Curieuse. — Fabricii Bibl. Grace. — Niceron, vol
XIV. — SaxJi Onomatl.
104 C T E S I A S.
an abridgment compiled by Photius. Although the most
judicious among the ancients looked upon Ctesias as a fa-
bulous writer, several of the ancient historians and modern
Christian writers have adopted in part his chronology of
the Assyrian kings; but Dr. Vincent, a writer of the first
authority, after a careful examination of his character and
vtritings, decides that he must still be classed among the
fabulous historians. In Gale's Herodotus, Lond. 1679, fol.
we have " Excerpta e Ctesiae Persicis et Indicis," and
Henry Stephens published " Ex Ctesia, Agatharcide, et
Memnone excerpta," 1557.^
CTESIBIUS, of Alexandria, a famous mathematician
about 120 years B. C was, it is reported, the first inventor
of the pump, which he discovered by accident. On low-
ering a mirror that was in his father's shop, he observed
that the weight which helped it in moving upwards and
downwards, and which was inclosed in a cylinder, made a
noise, produced by the friction of the air violently forced
by the weight. He set about examining into the cause of
this sound, and thought it might be possible to avail him-
self of it in making an hydraulic organ, in which the air
and the water should form the sound ; an undertaking
which he executed with success. Encouraged by this pro-
duction, Ctesibius thouoht of usinj^c his mechanical skill in
measuring time. He constructed a clepsydra, or water-
clock, foi'med with water, and regulated by cogged wheels;
the water by falling turned these wheels, whicii communi-
cated their motion to a column on which were marked the
characters for distinouishino; the months and tbe hours.
At the same time that the cogged wheels were put in mo-
tion, they raised a little statue, which with a wand pointed
to the months and hours marked upon the colunni. He
was also the author of " Geodesia, or the art of dividing
and measurino- bodies," which is said to be in the Vatican
library ; but he must be distinguished from Ctesibins of
Chalcis, who was a cynic philosopher, of a sportive dispo-
sition and a cheerful temper, who had the art of being
agreeable to the great, without submitting to the vile arts
of flattery, and made them hearken to truth, and gave
them a taste for virtue, under the name of amusement. -
CUDVVORTH (Ralph), a learned English divme and
philosopher, was son of Dr. Ralph Cud worth, and born
' Vossius,— Fabric, Bibl. Gr.— Vincent's Periplasj vol. I. ' Moreri.
C U D W O R T ir. 105
1C17, at Aller, in Somersetshire, of which place his father
was rector. His mother was of the family of Machell, and
had heen nurse to prince Henry, eldest son of James I,
His father dying vvlien he wad oi^ly seven years of age,
and l)is motlier marrying again, i}is education was super-
intended by his father-in-law, Dr. Stoiighton, who was
very attentive to the promising genius of his scholar. In
1630, he was admitted pensioner of Emanuel college,
Cambridge ; of which, after taking the degrees of B. A.
and ]\1. A. he was chosen fellow, and became an eminent
tutor. Among his pupils, who were numerous, was Mr.
William Temple, afterwards the celebrated baronet, states-
man, and writer. About 1641 he was presented to the
rectory of North Cadbury, in Somersetshire. In 1642 he
published " A discourse concerning the true notion of the
Lord's Supper," printed at London, in 4to, with only the
initial letters of his name. In this he contends that the
Lord's supper is not a sacrifice, but a feast upon a sacri-
fice ; and endeavours to demonstrate, that " the Lord's
supper in the Christian church, in reference to the true
sacrifice of Christ, is a parallel to the feasts upon sacri-
fices, both in the Jewish religion and heathenish super-
stition." Bochart, Spencer, Selden, and other eminent
writers, quote this discourse with great commendations,
but his opinions have been controverted by the majority
of divines. The same year likewise appeared his treatise
entitled " The Union of Christ and the Church, in a
shadow, by R, C." printed at London, in 4to,
In 1644 he took the degree of B. D. upon which occa-
sion he maintained the two foliowing theses : that, The
reasons of good and evil are eternal and indispensable; and
tliat There are incorporeal su'ostances by their own nature
immortal. From these questions it has been thought that
he was even at that time examinin<j and revolvingr in his
mind those important subjects, which he afterwards intro-
duced in his " Intellectual System," and other works still
preserved in MS. The same year he was appointed master
of Clare hall, in Cambridge, in the room of Dr. Paske,
who had been ejected by tne parliamentary visitors. The
year after. Dr. Metcalf having resigned the regius profes-
sorship of Hebrew, Cudworth was unammously nominated
by the seven electors to succeed him. From this time he
applied himself chiefly to his academical employments and
studies, especially to that of the Jewish antiquities. March
106 C U D W O R T H.
31, 1647, he preached before the house of commons at
Westminster, upon a day of public humiliation, a sermon
upon 1 John ii. 3, 4, for which he had the thanks of that
house returned him the same day. This sermon was printed
the same year at Ciuubridge, in 4to, with a dedication to
the house of conmions ; in which he told them, that the
scope of it was not to contend for this or that opinion, but
only to persuade men to the life of Christ, as tb.e pith and
kernel of all religion ; without which all the several forms
of religion in the world, though we please ourselves never
so much with them, are but so many several dreams.
In 1651 he took the decree of U. D. and in 1654 was
chosen master of Christ's college, in Cambridge ; in which
year also he married. He spent the remainder of his life
in this station, proving highly serviceable to the university,
and the church of England. Jan. 1657, he was one of the
persons nominated by a committee of the parliament, to
be consulted ;.bout the English translation of the Bible.
The lord commissioner Whitlocke, who had the care of
this business, nientions him among others ; and says, that
" this committee often met at his house, and had the most
learned men in the oriental tongues, to consult with in
this great business, and divers learned and excellent ob-
servations of some mistakes in the translation of the Bible
in English, uhich yet was agreed to be the best of any
translation in the world." Our author had a great share in
the friendship and esteem of John Thurloe, esq. secretary
of state to the protectors Oliver and Richard Cromwell ;
who frequently corresponded with him, and consulted him
about such persons in the universit}- as were proper to be
employed in political and civil affairs. Besides several
letters of recommendation remaining in MS. there is a
printed one in Thurloe's " State Papers" in which he re-
commends to the secretary, for the place of chaplain to
the English merchants at Lisbon, Mr. Zachary Cradock,
afterwards provost of Eton college, and famous for his un-
common learning and abilities as a preacher*.'
* .Jan. 163P he wrote the following- vitation \vl)icli I ncqtiainted him with,
letter to secretary Thurloe, upon his I could tlo no lesso than accompany
design of publishing some Laiiin liis- him with these few lines, to present
courses in defence of ClM-istianiiy my service to you. I am pt rswaded,
against .Judaim. you will he well satisfied in his inje-
'* Sir, — Havinj;' this opportunity of- ntiity, when yon are aciiuainted with
fored by doctour Sclatcr, who desires to him. Now 1 liavo this opporinnit}', I
wait u|)on you, upon your kind in- shall use the freedom to acciuaiiit you
CUDWORTH.
107
Upon the restoration of Charles II. he wrote a copy of
verses, which were pubHshed in " Academiae CantabrU
gieiisis SflTHPIA, sive ad Carolum II. reducem, &c. gra-
tulatio;" and in 16G2 he was presented by Sheldon, then
bishop of London, to the vicarage of Ashwell, in Hertford-
shire. In 167S he was installed a prebendary of Glou-
cester ; and in this year it was that he published at London,
in folio, his celebrated work entitled *' The true Intellec-
tual System of the Universe ; the first part, wherein all the
reason and philosophy of atheism is confuted, and its im-
possibility demonstrated." The imprimatur by Dr. Sa-
muel Parker, chaplain to archbishop Sheldon, is dated
May 29, 1671, seven years before the publication of this
work, owing to the opposition of some people at court,
who used all their endeavours to destroy its reputation on
yu'dh another business. I am per-
swadetl by friends to publish some dis-
courses, which 1 have prepared in La-
tine, that will be of a polecnicall na-
ture, in defcHse of Christianity aij,ainst
judaisme ; explaining some cheef
places of scripture controverted be-
tween the Jews and us, as Daniel's pro-
phecy of the seventy weeks, never yet
sufliciently cleared and improved; and
withall extricating many difliculties of
chronologic. Which taske 1 the ra-
ther undertake, not only because it is
suitable to my Hebrew profession, and
because I have lighted on some Jewish
writings upon the argument, as have
scarcely ever been seen by any Chris-
tians, which would the better iiiable
me fully to confute them ; but also
because I conceive it a worke proper
and suitable to this present age. How-
ever, though I should not be able my-
selfe to be any way instrumental to
these great transactions of provi")ence,
not without cause hoped for of raa«y
amongst the Jews ; yet 1 perswade
myselfc my pains may not be alto-
gether unprofitable for the settling and
establishing of Christians ; or at least
1 shall give an account of my spending
such vacant hours, as I could redeeme
from my preaching and other occa-
sions, and the perjietual distractions
of the bursarship, which the statutes of
this colledge impose upon me. It was
my purpose to dedicate these fruits of
my studies to his highnes, to whose noble
father I was much obliged, if 1 may
have leave or presume to doe : which
1 cannot better understand by any
than yourselfe, if you shall think it
convenient, when you have an oppor-
tunity to insinuate any such thing,
which 1 permiite wholly to your pru-
dence. I intend, God willing, to be
in London some time in March ; and
then I shall waite upon you to receve
your information. In the mean time,
craving pardon for this prolixity of
mine and freedome, I subscribe my-
self your really devoted friend and
humble servant, R. Cudworth.
Jan. '20, lt)53,
Christ Coll. Cambr."
The " Discourse concerning Daniel's
Prophecy of the Seventy W^eeks,"
mentioned in this letter, and still ex-
tant in MS. is highly commended by
Dr. Henry More, in the preface to
his " Explanation of the grand mys-
tery of Godliness}" where he observes,
that Dr. Cudworth in that discourse,
whicli was read in the public schools of
the university, had undeceived the
world, which had long been misled by
the authority of Joseph Scaliger ; and
that, taking Funccius's epocha, he had
demonstrated the manifestation of the
Messiah to have fallen out at the end
of the 69ih week, and his passion in
the midst of the last, in the most na-
tural and proper sense thereof: " which
demonstration of his," says More,
" is of as much price and worth in
theology, as either the circulation of
the blood in physic, or the motion of
the earth in natural philosophy."
108 C U D W O R T H.
account of certain singulaiities in it, which brought some
of his opinions under suspicion. He appeared indeed so
much to affect impartiality, as to incur the imputation of
betraying the cause ije meant to defend, which certainly
was far from his intention. Dryden tells us, that " he
raised such strong objections against the being of a God
and providence, that many thought he had not answered
them :" and lord Shaftesbury says that " though the whole
world were no less satisfied with his capacity and learning,
than with his sincer ty in the cause of the Deity ; yet was
he accused of giving the upper hand to the atheists, for
having only stated their reasons and those of their adver-
saries fairly together." Bayle, in his " Continuation des
pensees diverses sur les Cometes," observed, that Cudworth
by his plastic nature gave great advantage to the atheists ;
and laid the foundation of a warm dispute between himself
and Le Clerc upon this subject. Le Clerc frequently ex-
pressed his wishes, that some man of learning would trans-
late the " Intellectual System" into Latin ; but this design,
though formed or entertained and attempted by several
persons in Germany, was never executed till 1733, when
the learned Mosheim published his translation of it. A
second edition of the English was published by Birch,
1743, in 2 vols, 4to, in which were first supplied, chiefly
from Mosheim's Latin edition, references to the several
quotations in the *' Intellectual^System," which before
were very obscure and imperfect, but Mosheim had been
at the pains to search them all out, and to note them very
accurately. In Birch's edition, there are, besides the " In-
tellectual System," the following pieces of our author,
viz. the " 13iscourse concerning the true notion of the
Lord's Supper," and " Two Sermons," on 1 John ii. 3, 4,
and 1 Cor. xv. 57, to all which is prefixed an account of
the life and writings of tlie author, by Dr. Birch.
Cudworth (lied at Cambridge, June 26, 1688, and was
interred in the chapel of Christ's college. He was a man
of v,ery extensive erudition, excellently skilled in the
learned languages and antiquity, a good mathematician, a
subtle philosopher, and a profound metaphysician. The
main design of his celebrated work, *' The Intellectual
System," is to refute the principles of atheism, and in this
lie has successfully employed a vast fund of learning and
reading. But his partiality for the Platonic philosophy, in
judging of which, after the example of his conteniporaiies,
C U D W O R T H. 109
he paid too much respect to the writings of the modern
Alexandrian Phitonists, led him into trctpient mistakes.
In physics he adopted the atomic system; bur, abantlornng
Democritus and Epicurus as the first patrons of impiet}',
he added to the doctrine of atoms that of a certain middle
substance between matter and spirit, to which h~i gave the
appellation of plastic nature, which he supposed to be the
immediate instrument of tlie oivine operation ; and this
hypotliesis gave rise to the controversy above-mentioned
between Bayle and Le Clerc. Cudworth stands at the
head of those divines who, considering the belief in a tri-
une God as a fundamental article of Christian belief, main-
tain that both the Platonic, and all the other Pagan trinities
are only corruptions and mutilations of certain primaeval
revelations and patriarchal traditions relative to the asserted
distinction in the divine nature ; and he has very ably
discussed this important subject in his Intellectual System.
A great number of writers commend Cudworth's piety
and modesty ; and Burnet having observed, that Dr. Henry
More studied to consider religion as a seed of a deiform
nature, and in order to this, set young students much on
reading the ancient philosophers, chiefl}'^ Plato, TuUy, and
Plotinus, and on considering the Cliristian religion as a
doctrine sent from God, both to elevate and sweeten hu-
man nature, tells us, that " Cudworth carried this on with
a great strength of genius, and a vast compass of learning ;
and that he was a man of great conduct and prudence ;
upon which his enemies did very falsely accuse him of craft
and dissimulation." He left several manuscripts which seem
to be a continuation of his " Intellectual System," of which
he had given the world only the first part. One of these
was published by Chandler, bishop of Durham, 1731, in
8vo, under this title, " A Treatise concerning eternal
and immutable Morality." This piece was levelled against
the writings of Hobbes and others, who revived the ex-
ploded opinions of Protagoras ; takmg away the essen-
tial and eternal differences of moral good and evil, of just
and unjust, and making them all arbitrary productions of
divine or human will. He left also several other MSS.
with the following titles]: 1. A discourse of moral good and
evil." 2. Another book of morality, whtrein Hobbes's phi-
losophy is explained. 3, A discourse of liberty and ne-
cessity, in which the grounds of the atheistical philosophy
are confuted, and morality vindicated and explained. 4.
110 CUDWORTH.
Another book " De libero arhiLrio." 5. Upon Daniel's
prophecy of the 70 weeks, wherein all the interprctauons
of the Jews are considered and confuted, with several of
some learned Christians. 6. Of the verity of the Chris-
tian religion, against the Jews. 7. A disconrse of the crea-
tion of the world, and immortality of the sonl. 8. Hehrcw
learning. 9. An explanation of Hobbes's notion of God,
and of the extension of spirits. The history of these MSS.
is somewhat curious. Havin<r been left to the care of his
daughter, lady Masham*, they for a long time quietly re-
posed in the libraiy at Gates, in Essex. But, about the
year 1762, when the late lord, Masham married his second
lady, his lordship thought proper to remove a number of
volumes of ancient learning, which had been bequeathed
to the family by Mr. Locke, and the manuscripts of Dr.
Cud worth, to make room for books of polite amusement.
For this purpose, he sold either the whole, or a consider-
able part of them, to Mr. Robert Davis, then a bookseller
in Piccadilly. Mr. Davis being told, or having concluded,
that the manuscripts were the productions of Mr. Locke,
it became an object of consideration with him, how to con-
vert them, as a tradesman, to the best advantage. They
contained, among other things, sundry notes on scripture.
About the same time, a number of manuscript scriptural
notes by Dr. Waterland came into the possession of the
booksellers. It was therefore projected, by the aid of such
celebrated names as Mr. Locke and Dr. Waterland, to
fabricate a new Bible with annotations. At a consultation,
however, it was suggested, that, though these names were
very important, it would be necessary, to the complete suc-
cess of the design, to join with them some popular living
character. The unfortunate Dr. Dodd was then in the height
of his reputation as a preacher, and was fixed upon to carry
on the undertaking. This was the origin of Dr. Dodd's
Bible, and part of the materials put into his hands the
doctor made use of in the " Christian Magazine." When
the manuscripts were returned to Mr. Davis, he carried
them down to Barnes in Surry, which was his country re-
tirement, and threw them into a garret, where they lay
exposed to the dangers of such a situation. About the
beginning of the year 1777, a gentleman, who had a
* Our author liad several sons, who Gates in the county of Essex, bart
probably died young; but he left one Of this lady an account will be given
daugliter, Damaris, who became se- hereafter.
CQiud wife to sir Francis Masham, of
C U D W O R T H. Ill
veneration for the name of INIr. Locke, and was concerned
to hear that any of his writhigs were in danger of being
lost, went to Barnes, to see these manuscripts ; and bein"-
positively assured by Mr. Davis, that tliey were the real
compositions of that eminent man, he immediately pur-
chased them for forty guineas. He was, liowevcr, soon
convinced, after an examination of them, that the authority
of the bookseller was fallacious, and having remonstrated
against the deception, the vender condescended to take
them again, upon being paid ten guineas for his disappoint-
ment in the ne*jociation. In the investio^ation of the ma-
nuscripts, the gentleman having discovered, by many in-
contestable proofs, that they were the writings of Dr. Cud-
worth, he recommended them to the curators of the British
Museum, by whom they were purchased ; and thus, at last,
after many perils and mutilations, tliey are sa-fely iodo-ed
in that noble repository. '
CUERENHERT (Theodore van), a very extraordi-
nary person, was a native of Amsterdam, where he was
born in 1.522. It appears that early in life he travelled
into Spain and Portugal, but the motives of his journey
are not ascertained. He was a man of science ; and, ac-
cording to report, a good poet. The sister arts he at first
considered as an amusement only ; but at length was
obliged to have recourse to engraving for his support, and
though the different studies in which he employed his
time prevented his application to this art from being so
close as it ought to have been, yet marks of genius are dis-
coverable in his works. They are slight, and hastily exe-
cuted with the graver alone, in an open careless style, so
as greatly to resemble drawings made with a pen. He
was settled at Haerlem ; and there pursuing iiis favourite
studies in literature, he learned Latin, and was made se-
cretary to that town, from wiience he was several times
employed as ambassador to the prince of Orange, to whom
he addressed a famous manifesto, which that prince pub-
lished in 1566. Had he stopped here, it had been well;
but, directing his thoughts to matters which he did not
understand, he brought forward an arcfuraent as dano-er-
ous as It was absui'd. He maintained, that all reliu^ious
communications were corrupted ; and that without a super-
• Biog. Cvlt. — Burnet's Own Times. — Birch's Cudworth and Tillotson. —
Gent. Maj LVIII. 1186 ; LIX. 123. 126.— Critical Review, LV. p. 391.— Avs-
cough's Cat. of MSS. in Brit. Mus.
112 C U E R E N II E R T.
natural mission, accompanied with miracles, no person had
any right to administer in any religious office : lie there-'
fore pronounced tiiat man to be unworthy tiie name of a
Christian who would enter any place of public worship.
This he not only advanced in wortis, but strove to shew
the sincerity of his belief in it by practice ; and for that
reason would not communicate with either protestant or
papist. His works were published in three volumes folio,
16'60 ; and though he was several times imprisoned, and at
last sentenced to banishment, yet he does not appear to
have altered his sentiments. He died at Tergout in 1390,
aged 68. It is to his honour as an artist, that he was the
instructor of the justly-celebrated Henry Goltzius. Cue-
renhert worked conjointly with the Gallesand other artists,
from the designs of Martin Hemskerk. The subjects are
from the Old and New Testament, and consist chiefly of
middling-sized plates lengthwise. He also engraved seve-
ral subjects from Frank Floris. '
CUFF (Henry), a celebrated wit and scholar, but
memorable chiefly for the peculiarity of his fate, was de-
scended from a good family, though some have insinuated
the contrary, and born at Hinton St. George in Somerset-
shire about 1560. He gave early marks of genius and ap-
plication, and in 1576 was admitted of Trinity college in
Oxford ; where he soon distinguished himself by his know-
ledge of the Greek tongue, and an admirable faculty in
disputing. He was elected scholar in May 1578, and was
admitted fellow in May 1583, but had the misfortune to
lose his fellowship for a witticism, which, either in jest or
malice, he levelled at sir Thomas Pope, the founder of
- his college. Sir Thomas, we are told, had a singular
whim, upon visiting some persons, of seizing whatever he
could lay his hands on, and carrying it off under his gown
or in his pocket ; which, however, was not imputed to dis-
honesty, but to humour. This induced Cuff in one of his
merry moments to say, " A pox ! this is a poor beggarly
college indeed : the plate that our founder stole, would
build such another." The president, hearing of this,
ejected Cuff from his fellowship ; not suffering prophane
wit to be thus exercised within his walls, for fear perhaj)s
that it should become contagious. Such is the story, as
told by Wood, who says he had it from Dr. Balhurst ; but
* Strutt's Dictionary.
' -CUFF. 115
'Mr. Warton has proved that he has misrepresentcfl it, nor
was Cuff removed by the president, but by a mandate from
lady Fowlett, the foundress, who first placed him tliere.
Cuff's merit, however, was so great, and his reputation for
learning so extraordinary, that he was, in 1386, elected
probationer of Merton college by sir Henry Savile, then
warden ; and two years after made fellow. He was con-
sidered as a man capable of makintj a shiniiif fit^nre in
life ; and that he was much esteen)ed by sir Henry Savile,
appears not only from the instance of kindness just men-
tioned, but also from a letter of his to the learned Camden,
in which he gives him the highest character, and styles
him his own and Camden's intimate friend. He wrote a
Greek epigram in commendation of Camden's Britannia,
which is prefixed to all the Latin editions, and to some of
the English translations of it; and which has been much
admired. He was afterwards promoted to the Greek pro-
fessorship, and chosen proctor of the university in 1594-,
While Greek professor, he assisted Columbanius in the
first edition of Longus's elegant pastoral I'omance, printed
at Florence in 1598.
At what time he left Oxford, or upon what occasion,
<loes not appear ; but there is some reason to believe, it
was for tlie sake of travelling in order to improve himself.
For he was always inclined rather to a busy, than to a re-
tired life; and held, that learning was of little service t»
any man, if it did not qualify him for active pursuits. This
disposition recommended him much to the favour of the ce-
lebrated Robert earl of Essex, who was himself equally fond
of knowledge and business. Cuff became his secretary in
1596, when the earl was made lord lieutenant of Ireland ;
but it had been happier for him, if he could have con-
tented himself with the easy and honourable situation,
which his own learning, and the assistance of his friends in
the university, had procured him. Even his outset was
unfortunate; he accompanied the earl in his exj)edition
against Cadiz, and after its successful conclusion, was
dispatched with his lordship's letters to England, and,
when he had landed, endeavoured witli the utmost speed,
to arrive with them at the court. Beinof, however, unfor-
Innately taken ill on the road, he was obliged to send up
the letters, inclosed in one of his own, to Mr. Reynoldes,
another of the earl's secretaries. Mr. Cuff', agreeably to
large instructions which he had received from his lordship.
Vol. XI. I
114 CUFF.
had drawn up a discourse couceniing the great action at
Cadiz, vvliich the earl purposed to be published as soon as
possible, both to stop all vagrant rumours, and to inform
those tliat were well affected, of the truth of the whole.
It was at the name lime to l)e so contrived, that neither his
lordship's name, nor Cuff's, nor any other person's, con-
nected with the earl, should either be openly mentioned,
used, or in such a manner insinuated, as that the most
slender guess could be made, who was the penman. The
publication was to have the appearance of a letter that
came from Cadiz, and the title of it was to be, " A true
relation of the action at Cadiz, the 21st of June, under the
earl of Essex and the lord admiral, sent to a gentleman in
court from one that served there in good place." Sir
Anthony Ashley, who was entrusted with the design, acted
a treacherous part on this occasion. He betrayed the se-
cret to the queen, and the lords of her council ; the con-
sequence of which was, that Mr. FulkeGrevill was charged
by her majesty to command Mr. Cuff, upon pain of death,
not to set forth any discourse concerning the expedition
without her consent.
He was afterwards involved in all the misfortunes of that
unhappy earl, and did not escape partaking of his fate.
Upon the sudden reverse of the earl's fortunes, Cuff was
not only involved, hut looked upon as the chief if not
the sole cause and author of his misfortunes. Thus,
When the earl was tried and condemned, February 19,
1601, and solicited by the diyines who attended him while
tinder sentence, he not only confessed matters prejudicial
to Cufl", but likewise charged him to his face with being
the author of all his misfortunes, and the j)erson who
principally persuaded him to pursue violent measures. Sir
Henry Neville, also, being involved in this uidiappy busi-
ness, mentioned Cuff as the person who invited him to the
meeting at Drury-house ; where the plot for forcing the
carl's way to the queen by violence was concerted. Cuff
was brought to his trial March 5th following, and although
he defended himself with great steadiness and spirit, was
convicted, and executed at Tyburn, March 30, 1601 ;
dying, it is said, with great constancy and courage. He
declared, at the place of execution, that " he was not in
the least concerned in that wild commotion which was
raised by a particular great but unadvised earl, but shut
wp that whole day within the house, where he spent his
CUFF. 115
time in very melancholy reflections : that he never per-
suaded any man to take up arms against the queen, but
was most heartily concerned for beuig an instrument of
bringing- that worthy gentleman sir Henry Neville into
danger, and did most earnestly intreat his jjardon, &c. *"
His character has been harshly treated by lord Bacon,
sir Henry Wotton, and other writers. Camden also, who
knew him intimately, and had lived many years in great
friendship with him, says that he was a man of most ex-
quisite learning and |)enetrating wit, but of a seditious
and perverse disposition. Others are milder in their cen-
sures ; and all allow him to have been a very able and
learned man. He wrote a book an English, a very little
before his death, which was printed about six 3'ears after,
under this title: "The differences of the ages of man's
life, together with the original causes, progress, and end
thereof," 1607, 8vo. It has been printed more than once
since, and commended as a curious and philosophical
piece. Wood says, that he left behind him other things
reatly for the press, which were never published. Bishop
Tanner has given us the title of one ; viz. " De reb
o
us
gestis in sancto concilio Nicaeno ;" or. The transactions in
the holy council of Nice, translated out of Greek into
Latin, and believed to have been the work of Gelasius
Cyricenus, which was transcribed from the original in the
Vatican library by Cuff. And in the " Epistolas Francisci
et Johamiis Hotomanorum, Patris et Filii, et clarorum Vi-
rorum ad eos," are several letters by Cuflt', to John Hot-
man. These are said to exhibit distinguished marks of
genius and learning ; to be written in elegant Latin ; and
to contain some curious particulars. Mr. Warton informs
us that, notwithstanding the severe check he received at
Trinity college, he presented several volumes to the
library. The manner of his death deprived him, as may
* In vol. I. of the Annual Registpr, Enghuul must die like clogs, and be
and the Gent, Mag;, vol. XLllI. the hanged. 'I'o niislike this were but
following remarkable speech is given, folly : to dispute ^t, but lime lost : to
we know not upon what auihoiity, as alter it, impossible. Rut to endure it,
the dying speech of Mr. CulF: "Iain is manly; and to sourn it, magnani-
here adjudged to die, for acting an act mity. Th« queen is displeased, the
npYer plotted, for plotting a plot never lawyers injurious, and death terrible,
acted. Justice will have her course; But 1 crave pardon of the queen ; for-
accusers must be heard ; greatness give the lawyers, and the world ; de-
will have the victory, .Scholars and sire to be forgiven ; and welcome
martialists (though learning and va- death." This speech is at least cba-
."^ur shaulj have the pre-eminence) in racteristic,
1 2
116 CUFF.
easily be imagined, of a monument ; an old friend, how-
ever, ventured to eaibalni liis memory in the following:
epitaph :
" Doctns eras Gra?co, felixque tibi fiiit alpha.
At fuit infehx omega, Cuffe, tuum."
Which has been thus translated :
" Thou wast indeed well read in Greek ;
Thy alpha too was crown'd with hope :
But, oh ! though sad the truth I speak.
Thy omega pro\ed but a I'ope."'
C UJ ACIUS, or CUJAS (James), a celebrated lawyer,
was born at Thoulouse about 1520. His parents were
mean; but nature compensated for the favours of fortune,
by the great talents she bestowed upon him. In his edu-
cation he was independent of the assistance of teachers.
He taught himself Greek and Latin, and every thing else
which related to polite literature : and he arrived to so
profound a knowledge of law in general, and of civil law
in particular, that he is supposed of all the moderns to
have penetrated the farthest into the origin and mysteries
of it. The means by which he succeeded in these re-
searches, were the same which the ancient lawyers pur-
-sued ; the etymology of words, and the lights of history.
Indeed he was some little time under Arnoldus ; but it
was so little, that it can be esteemed of no account to him.
With such talents and acquirements he had some reason
to complain of his country, for refusing him the professor's
chair when it was vacant, and presenting one to it who
was not capable of filling it with half the honour. Fo-
reigners, howev^er, did justice to his merit, came from all
parts, and studied under his direction, and the ablest
magistrates, which France then had, were formed by the
instructions of this lawyer. From Thoulouse he was in-
vited to the university of Cohors, and thence to Bourges.
The king of France shewed him every honour, and per-
mitted him to sit amongst his counsellors of parliament.
Emanuel Philibert, duke of Savoy, invited him to Turin ;
and pope Gregory XHI. endeavoured to draw him to Bo-
Jogna, his own native countrv, a very advantageous offer,
which his age and infirmities did not permit iiim to accept.
He continued to teach at Bourges, where he took the
» Biog. r.rir.— Fuller's Worthies.— Ath. Ox. vol. I.— Waitou's Life of Sir T,
Pope, p. 2J0. — Tunaer.
C U J A C 1 U S. 117
greatest pleasure in communicating familiarly to his friends
and scliulars vvluitever lie had discovered in the law, and
shewed them the shortest and easiest way to come to a
perfect knowledge of that science. He was remarkable
for his friendly manner of treating his scholars. He used
to eat and drink with them ; and, to encourage them in
their studies, lent them money and books, which pro-
cured him the name of " Father of iiis scholars." He died
at Bourges 1590; and his works were first published at
Paris, lo'Si, folio, and afterwards by C. Hannibal Fabrot,
at Paris, in 10 vols. 1659, folio, which is reckoned the
best edition. With respect to his religious principles, in
the critical times in which he lived, we are told that when
his opinion was asked about some questions in divinity,
then agitated with great warmth, he answered, " Nil hoc
ad edictum praetoris :" which Gallio-like answer subjected
him to the suspicion of indifference in religious matters.^
CULLEN (William), one of the most eminent phy-
sicians of the last century, was born Dec. 11, 1712, of
respectable though indigent parents in Lanarkshire. Hav-
ing served a short apprenticeship to a surgeon and apo-
thecary in Glasgow, he obtained the place of a surgeon in
one of ihrf merchant's vessels from London to the West
Indies. Not liking his employment, he returned to his
own county, where he practised a short time in the parish
of Shotts, among the farmers and country people, and
then removed to Hamilton, intending to practise there as
a physician. Wliile he resided near Shotts, Archibald
duke of Argyle made a visit to a gentleman in that neigh-
bourhood. His "race was encraired in some chemical re-
searches which required elucidation by experiments, for
which he then wanted the proper apparatus. The gentle-
man, recollecting young CuUen, mentioned him as the
person vvho could most probably supply his wants. He
was consequently invited to dinner, and presented to the
duke, with whom hs commenced an acquaintance, to
which he was probably indebted for all his future fortune.
The name of Cullen having thus become known, his repu-
tation as a practitioner was soon established in the neigh-
bourhood. The duke of Hamilton likewise happened then
to be for a short time in that part of the country, and having
1 Moreri. — Diet. Hist. — Freheri Theatrum. — Blount's Censura. — Saxii Ono-
mast. — Of his tomb, se* Gent. Ala-, vol. X.XXVIII. from the Huetiana.
118 C U L L E N.
been suddenly taken ill, was induced by the character
which he had heard of CuUen to send for his assistance,
and was not only benetited b}^ his skill, but amply gratified
with his conversation. He accordingly obtanied for him a
place in the university of Glasgow, where his talents soon
became more conspicuous. It was not, however, solely to
the favour of these two o-reat men that Cullen owed his
literary fame. He was recommended to the notice of men
of science in a way still more honourable to himself. The
disease of the duke of Hamilton having resisted the effect
of the first applications, Dr. Clarke was sent for from
Edinburgh; and he was so much pleased with every thing
that Cuilen had done, that he becanse his eulogist upon
ever}?^ occasion. Cuilen never forgot this ; and wiien
Clarke died, gave a public oration in his praise in the
university of Edinburgh ; which, it is believed, was the
lirst of the kind in that kingdom.
During his residence in the country, several important
incidents occurred, that ought not to be passed over in
silence. It was during this time that a connexion in
business was formed in a very humble line between two
men, who became afterwards eminently conspicuous in
much more exalted stations. William, (afterwards Doctor)
Hunter, the famous lecturer on anatomy in London, was a
native of the same part of the country ; and these two
young men, stimulated by the impulse of genius to prose-
cute their medical studies with ardour, but thwarted by the
narrowness of their fortune, entered into a copartnership
business as surgeons and apothecaries in the country. The
chief end of their contract being to furnish the parties with
the means of prosecuting their medical studies, which
they could not separatel}' so well enjoy, it was stipulated,
that one of them alternately should be allowed to study in
what college he inclined, during the winter, while the
other should carry on the business in the countr}^ for their
common advantage. In consequence of this agreement,
Cuilen was first allowed to study in the university of Edin-
burgh for one winter ; but when it came to Hunter's turn
next winter, he, preferring London to Edinburgh, went
thither. There his sinoular neatness in dissecting, and
uncommon dexterity in making anatomical preparations,
his assiduity ia study, his mildness of manner, and
][)liabiiity of temper, soon recommended him to the notice
uf Dr. Douglass, who then read lectures upon anatomy and
C U L L E N. 119
midwifery there ; who enjraGfed Hunter as an assistant, and
whose chair he afterwards filled with so much honour to
himself and satisfaction to the public. Thus was dissolved,
in a premature manner, a partnership perhaps of as singu-
lar a kind as is to be found in the annals of literature ; nor
was Cullen a man of that disposition to let any engagement
with him prove a bar to his partner's advancement in life.
The articles were freely given up by him ; and Cullen and
Hunter ever after kept up a very cordial and friendly cor-
respondence ; though, it is believed, they never from that
time had a personal interview.
During the time that Cullen practised as a country sur-
geon and apothecary, he formed another connexion of a
more permanent kind, which, happily for him, was not
dissolved till a very late period of his life. Very early in
life he took a strong attachment to an amiable woman, a
Miss Johnston, daughter to a clergyman in that neighbour-
hood, nearly of his own age, who was prevailed on to marry
him, at a time when he had nothing else to recommend him,
except his person and dispositions. She was beautilul,
bad great good sense, equanimity of temper, an anjiable
disposition, and elegance of maimers, and brought with
her a little money, which, however small in modern calcu-
lation, was important in those days to one in his situation
in life. After giving to uim a numerous family, and par-
ticipating with him the changes of fortune which he expe-
rienced, she peacefully departed this life in summer 1786.
In the year 1716, Cullen, who had now taken the de-
gree of doctor in physic, was appointed a lecturer in che-
mistry in the university of Glasgow; and in the month of
October be<ran his lectures in that science. His singular
talents for arrangement, his distinctness of enunciation, his
vivacity of manner, and his knowledge of the science he
taught, rendered his lectures interesting to the students to
a decree that had been till then unknown at that univer-
sity. He became, therefore, in some measure, adored by
the students. The former professors were eclipsed by the
brilliancy of his reputation : and he had to experience all
those little rubs that envy and disap|)ointed ambition natu-
rally threw in his way. Regardless, however, of these, he
pressed forward with ardour in his literary career; and,
supported by the favour of the public, he consoled himself
lor the contumely he met with from a few individuals. His
practice as a physician increased frcm day to day ; and a
120 C U L L E N.
vacancy having occurred in the year 1751, he was then ap-
pointed by the king professor of medicine in that univer-
sity. This new appointment served only to call forth his
powers, and to bring to light talents that it was not for-
merly known he possessed ; so that his fame continued to
increase.
As, at that period, the patrons of the university of Edin-
burgh were desirous of engaging the most eminent medical
men to support the rising iame of the college, their atten-
tion was soon directed towards CuUen ; who, on the death
of Dr. Plummer, professor of chemistry, was, in 1756,
unanimously invited to accept the vacant chair. This in-
vitation he accepted : and having resigned all his employ-
ments in Glasgow, he began his academical career in
Edinburgh in the month of October of that year; and
there he resided till his death. If the admission of Culleii
into the university of (jlasgow gave great spirit to the
exertions of the students, this was still, if possible, more
strongly felt in Edinburgh. Chemistry, which had been
till that time of small account in that university, and was
attended to by very few of the students, instantly became
a favourite study ; and the lectures upon that science were
miore frequented than any others in the university, ana-
tomy alone excepted. The students, in general, spoke of
Culleu with the rapturous ardour that is natural to youth
when they are highly pleased. These eulogiums appeared
extravagant to moderate men, and could not fail to prove
disgusting to his colleagues. A party was formed among
the students for opposing this new favourite of the public ;
and these students, by misrepresenting the doctrines of
Cullen to others, who could not have an opportunity of
hearing these doctrines themselves, made even some of
the most intelligent men in the university think it their
duty publicly to oppose these imaginary tenets. The fer-
ment was thus augmented ; and it was some time before
the j^rofessors discovered the arts by which they had been
imposed upon, and universal harmony was then restored.
During this time of public ferment, Cullen went stea-
dily forward, without taking any part himself in these dis-
putes. He never gave ear to any tales respecting his col-
leagues, nor took any notice of the doctrines they taught.
That some of their unguarded strictures might at times
come to his knowledge, is not impossii)le ; but if they did,
they seemed t;o. make no impression on his mind. These
C U L L E N. 121
attempts of a party of students to lower the cliaractcr of
C'uUen oil his first outset in the university of Edinburgh
having proved fruitless, liis fame as a professor, and his
reputation as a physician, became more and more respected
every day. Nor could it well be otherwise: CuUen's pro-
fessional knowledge was always great, and liis manner of
lecturino- sinjrularlv clear and intelligible, lively and enter-
taining ; and to his patients, his conduct in general as a
physician was so pleasing, his address so affable and en-
gaging, and his manner so open, so kind, and so little
regulated by pecuniary considerations, that it was impos-
sible for those who had occasion to call once for his medi-
cal assistance, ever to be satisfied on any future occasion
without it. He became the friend and companion of every
family he visited ; and his future acquaintance could not
be dispensed with.
Dr. Cullen also was justly admired in his conduct to his
scholars, which was so attentive, and the interest he took
in the private concerns of all those students who applied
to him for advice, vvas so cordial and so warm, that it was
impossible for any one who had a heart susceptible of ge-
nerous feelings, not to be enraptured with attentions so
uncommon and kind. The general conduct of Cullen to"
his students was this. With all such as he observed to be
attentive and diligent, he formed an early acquaintance,
by inviting them by twos, by threes, or by fours at a time,
to sup with him, conversing with them on these occasions
with the most engaging ease, and freely entering with
them on the subject of their studies, their amusements,
their difficulties, their hopes, and future prospects. In
this way, he usually invited the whole of his numerous
class, till he made himself acquainted with tlieir abilities,
their private character, and their objects of pursuit. Those
amon<r them whom he found most assiduous, best dis-
posed, or the most friendless, he invited the most fre-
quently, till an intimacy was gradually formed, which
proved highly beneficial to them. Their doubts, with re-
gard to their objects of study, he listened to with atten-
tion, and solved with the most obliging condescension.
His library, which consisted of an excellent assortment of
the best books, especially on medical subjects, was at all
times o[)en for their accommodation ; and his advice, in
every case of difficulty to them, they always had it in their
power most readily to obtain. They seemed to be his.
I2i C U L L E N.
family; and few persons of distinguished merit have left
the university of Edinburgh in liis time, with wliom he did
not keep up a correspondence till they were fairly estab-
lished in business. By these means, he came to have a
most accurate knowledge of the state of every countr}',
with respect to practitioners in the medical line: the only
use he made of which knowledge, was to direct students
in their choice of places, where they might have an op-
portunity of engaging in business with a reasonable pro-
spect of success. Many, very many able men has he thus
placed in situations of business which they never could
have thought of themselves; and some of them even now
are reaping the fruits of this beneHcent foresight on his
part.
Nor was it in this way only that he befriended the stu-
dents at the university of Edinburgh. Possessing a bene-
volence of mind that made him ever think first of the wants
of others, and recollecting the difficulties that he himself
struggled with in his younger days, he was at all times
singularly attentive to their pecuniary concerns. From his
general acquaintance among the students, and the friendly
habits he was in with many of them, he found no difficulty
in discovering those among them who were rather in low
circumstances, without being obliged to hurt their delicacy
in any degree. To such persons, when their habits of
study admitted of it, he was peculiarly attentive. They
were more frequently invited to his house than others ;
they were treated wilii more than usual kindness and fami-
liarity ; they were conducted to his library, and encou-
raged by the most delicate address to borrow from it freely
whatever books he thought they had occasion for : and as
persons in these circumstances were usually more shy in
this respect than others, books were sometimes pressed
upon them with a sort of constraint, b}^ the doctor insist-
ing to have their opinion of such or such passages they had
not read, and desiring them to carry the book home for
that purpose. He in short behaved to them rather as if he
courted their company, and stood in need of their ac-
quaintance, than they of his. He thus raised them in the
opinion of their acquaintance to a much higher degree of
estimation than they could otherwise have obtained, which,
to people whose minds were depressed by penury, and
whose sense of honour was sharpened by the conscious-
ness of an inferiority of a certain kind, was singularly
C U L L E N.
123
engaging. Thus were they inspired with a secret sense of
Uigiiity, which elevated their minds, and excited an un-
common ardour of pursuit, instead ot" that njehuicholy
inactivity whicli is so natural in such circumstances, and
which too often leads to despair. Nor w;is lie less delicate
in the manner of supplying their wanis, than attentive to
discover them. He olten found out some polite excuse
for refusing to take payment for a first course of lectures,
and never was at a loss for one to an after-course, and by
other delicate expedients he befriended those }oiuig tneii
whose circumstances were not equal to their merit and in-
dustry. It was also a constant ride with him never to take
fees as a physician from any student at the university ; yet
when called in, he attended them with the same assiduity
as if they had been persons of the first rank, who paid him
most liberally. This gradually induced others to adopt a
similar practice; so that it became a general rule for me-
dical professors to decline taking any fees when their as-
sistance was necessary to a student. For this useful re-
form, with many others, the students of the university of
Edinburgh are solely indebtetl to the liberality of Dr.
Cullen*.
The first lectures which CuUen delivered in Edinburgh
were on chemistry ; and for many years he also gave clini-
cal lectures on the cases which occurred in the Royal In-
firmary. In the month of February 1763, Dr. Alston died,
* The following anecdote relative to
this subject is not unamiising : A me-
dical student who lodg'ed in the same
bouse with Dr. Anderson the agricul-
turist, in 1760, and wiio attended at
that time a course of lectures given by
one of the medical professors, but who
never had attended Cullen's class,
happened to be seized with the small-
pox, which necessarily detained him
from the class, and prevented him for
the time from receiving any benefit
from these lectures. At the beginning
of the disorder, the young man, who
waS bulky, and in a full habit of body,
was sick, and very uneasy. He na-
turally called in his own professor as a
physician ; but in a short time ilie
sickness abated, and the small-pox, of
the most favourable kind, made their
appearance, after which no idea of
danger could be apprehended. In
tiiis state of things, the whole family
were very much surprised to find thai
the patient called in the assistance of
Dr. Cullen ; but he said he had rea-
sons for this conduct, that he knew
they would approve of when he should
state them, though he declined to do
it then. By and by, he became quite
well ; so that there could be no pre-
text for the physicians visiting him
any longer. In this situation, he
watched his op])Ortuni(y ; and when
the physicians were both present, he
thanked Dr. Cullen for the assistance
he had given, and offered hiin money :
hut this, as he hail foreseen, Cullen posi-
tively declined. After gently inlreat-
ing him to take it, and not being able
to prcvad, lie turned to his own pro-
fessor, and in like manner offered him
money. But this, for shame, he
could not possibly acccpl, though it
was not known that this gentleman had
ever before refused a fee when ofi'ered
10 him.
124 C U L L E N.
after having begun his usual course of lectures on the ma-
teria meilica; and the magistrates of Edinburgh, as patrons
of that professorship in the university, ai)poiiited Dr.
Cullen to that chair, requesting that he would finish the
course of lectures that had been begun for that season.
This he agreed to do ; and though he was under a neces-
sity of going on with the course in a few days after he was
nominated, he did not once think of reading the lectures
of his predecessor, but resolved to deliver a new course,
entirely his own. The popularity of Cullen at this time
may be guessed at by the increase of new students who
came to attend his course in addition to the eight or ten
who had entered to Dr. Alston. The new students ex-
ceeded one hundred. An imperfect copy of these lec-
tures, thus fabricated in haste, having been published, the
doctor thought it necessary to give a more correct edition
of them in the latter part of his life; but his faculties
being then much impaired, his friends looked in vain for
those striking beauties that characterised his literary exer-
tions in the prime of life.
Some years afterwards, on the death of Dr. White, the
magistrates once more appointed Dr. Cullen to give lec-
tures on the theory of physic in his stead. And it was on
that occasion Dr. Cullen thought it expedient to resign
the chemical chair in favour of Dr. Black, his former pupil,
whose talents in that department of science were then well
known, and who filled the chair till his death with great
satisfaction to the public. Soon after, on the death of Dr.
Rutherford, who for many years had given lectures with
applause on the practice of physic, Dr. John Gregory havmg
become a candidate for this place along with Dr. Cullen,
a sort of compromise took place between them, by which
they agreed each to give lectures, alternately, on the
theory and on the practice of physic during their joint
lives, the longest survivor being allowed to hold either of
the classes he should incline. In conserpience of this agree-
ment, Dr. Cullen delivered the first course of lectures on
the practice of physic, in winter 1766; and Dr. Gregory
succeeded him in that branch the following year. Never,
perhaps, did a literary arrangement take place, that could
have proved more beneficial to the students than this.
Both these men possessed great talents, though of a kind
extremely dissimilar. Both of them had certain failings
or defects, which the other was aware of, and counteracted.
C U L L E N. 125
Each of them knew and respected the talents of the other.
7'hey co-operated, therefore, in tlie happiest manner, to
enlarge the understanding, and to forward the pursuits of
their pu):)lls. Unfortunately this arrangement was soon
destroyed, by the unexpected death of Dr. Gregory, who
was cut off in the flower of life by a sudden and unfore-
seen event. After this time, Cullen continued to oive
... "^
lectures on the practice of physic till a few months before
his death, which happened on the 5th of February, lliJO,
in the seventy-seventh year of his age.
Although much of the character of this learned and
amiable man may be collected from the preceding narra-
tive, yet the following circumstances are too remarkable
to be omitted. In his lectures Dr. Cnllen never attempted
to read. They were delivered viva voce, without having
been previously put into writing, or thrown into any par-
ticular arrangement*. The vigour of his mind was such,
that nothing more was necessary than a few short notes
before him, merely to prevent him from varying from the
general order he had been accustomed to observe. This gave
to his discourses an ease, a vivacity, a variety, and a force,
that are rarely to be met with in academical discourses.
His lectures, by consequence, upon the same subject,
were never exactly the same. Their general tenor indeed
was not nmch varied ; but the particular illustrations were
alwavs new, well suited to the circumstances that attracted
the general attenticn of the da}', and were delivered in
the particular way that accorded with the cast of mind the
prelector found himself in at the time. To these circum-
stances must be ascribed that energetic artless elocution,
which rendered his lectures so grencrailv captivating: to his
hearers. Even those who could not follow him in those
extensive views bis penetrating mind glanced at, or who
were not able to understand those apt allusions to collateral
objects, he could only rapidly point at as he went along,
could not help being v>arined in sorre measure by the vi-
vacity of his manner. But to those who could follow him
in his rapid career, the ideas he suggested were so nu-
* This was the casp, however, with eye one moment from his written lec-
some oihcr of the, eminent m<;dical ture ; ami if he had but to anBOiiiice a
professors at thai time, paiticularly short vacation, or recommend a book
Dr. Monro and Dr. Black, neither of to the perusal of liis scholars, each
whom read. Of all the Ei'.inbur^h notice was penned, and read «ub great
professors in oit time. Dr. B!air \ra^ precision.
■ the ouly mau who could not trust tiiS
126 C U L L E N.
merous ; the views he laid open were so extensive ; and
the objects to be attained were so important, that every
active faculty of the mind was roused ; and sue h an ardour
of enthusiasm was excited in the prosecution of study, as
appeared to be inexphcable to those who were merely un-
concerned spectators. In consequence of this unshackled
freedom in the composition and delivery of his lectures,
every circumstance was in the nicest unison with the tone
of voice, and expression of countenance, which the par-
ticular cast of mind he was in at the time inspired. Was
he joyous, all the figures introduced for illustration were
fitted to excite hilarity and good humour : was he grave,
the objects brought under view were of a nature more
solemn and grand ; and was he peevish, there was a pe-
culiarity of manner, in thought, in word, and in action,
which produced a most striking and interesting effect.
The languor of a nerveless uniformity was never expe-
rienced, nor did an abortive attempt to excite emotions that
the speaker himself could not at the time feel, ever pro-
duce those discordant ideas which prove disgusting and
iinpleasing.
It would seem as if Dr. CuUen had considered the
proper business of a preceptor to be that of putting- his
pupils into a proper train of study, so as to enable them
to prosecute those studies at a future period, and to carry
them on much farther than the short time allowed for aca-
demical prelections would admit. He did not, therefore,
so much strive to make those who attended his lectures
deeply versed in the particular details of objects, as to trive
them a general view of the whole subject; to shew what
had been already attained respecting it ; to point out what
remained yet to be discovered ; and to put them into a
train of study that should enable them at a future period
to remove those difficulties that had hitherto obstructed
our progress ; and thus to advance of themselves to fartiier
and farther degrees of perfection. If these were his views,
nothing could be more happily adapted to them than the
mode he invariably pursued. He first drew, with the
striking touches of a master, a rapid and general outline of
the subject, by which the whole figure was seen at once
to start boldly from the canvas, distinct in all its parts, and
unmixed with any other object. He then began anew to
retrace the picture, to touch up the lesser parts, and to
finish the whole in as perfect a manner as the state of our
C U L L E N. 127
knowledge at the time would permit. Where materials
were wanting, the picture there continued to remain im-
perfect. The wants were thus rendered obvious ; and the
means of supplying these were pointed out with the most
careful discrimination. The student, whenever he looked
back to the subject, perceived the defects ; and his hopes
beinor awakened, he felt an irresistible impulse to explore
that hitherto untrodden path which had been pointed out
to him, and hil up the chasm which still remained. Thus
were the active faculties of the mind most powerfully ex-
cited ; and instead of labouring himself to supply defi-
ciencies Jiat far exceeded the power of any one man to
accomplish, he set thousands at work to fulfil the task, and
put them into a train of going on with it.
It was to these talents, and to this mode of applying
them, that Dr. CuUen owed his celebrity as a professor;
and it was in this manner that he has perhaps done more
towards the advancement of science than any other man of
his time, though many individuals might perhaps be found
who were more deeply versed in the particular departments
he taught than he himself was. Chemistry, which was
before his time a most disgusting pursuit, was by him ren-
dered a study so pleasing, so easy, and so attractive, that
it is now prosecuted by numbers as an agreeable recrea-
tion, who but for the lights that were thrown upon it by
Cullenand his pupils, would never have thought of engaging
in it at all.
According to a man who knew him well, there were three
things which eminently distinguished Cullen as a professor.
'* Ttie energy of his mind, by which he viewed every sub-
ject witij ardour, and combinetl it immediately with the
whole of his knowledge. The scientific arrangement which
he gave tD his subject, by which there was a lacidm ordo
to the dullest scholar. He was the first person in this
country who made chemistry cease to be a chaos. A won-
derful art of interesting the students in every thing which he
taught, and of raising an emulative enthusiasm among
them." .
For some years before Dr. CuUen's death, his friends
perceived a sensible decline of that ardour and energy of
mind which so strongly characterised him at a former pe-
riod. Strangers who had never seen him before, could
not be sensible of this change ; nor did any marked decline
in him strike them ; for his natural vivacity still was such
128 C U L L E N.
as might pass in general as the unabated vigour of one
in prime of hfe. Yet then, though his vigour of body and
mind were greater than others of his own age, it siiould never
be forgot that tlie vigour of old age is but feeble, and the
utmost energy of senility bears no resemblance to that gi-
gantic ardour which characterises the man of genius in tiie
prime of life. Cuilen to the last was great; but how dif-
ferent from what he had been, those alone could tell who
had an opportunity of knowing him in both situations, and
who had at the same time not an opportunity of perceiving
the change imperceptibly advance upon him, during the
lapse of a continued intercourse.
Dr. Cullen's external appearance, though striking, and
not unpleasing, was not elegant. His countenance was
expressive, and his eye in particular remarkably lively,
and at times wonderfully penetrating. In his person he
was tall and thin, stooping very much. When he walked,
he had a contemplative look, and did not seem much to
regard the objects around him.
Dr. Cullen's writings are noticeable rather from their
importance than number. We have mentioned that he
never wrote his lectures. Copies of them, however, were
taken in short-hand, and lent out to such students as wished
to make transcripts. Finding on one occasion that his lec-
tures on the materia medica were printing, he obtained
an injunction against their being issued until he had cor-
rected them ; and they were permitted to appear in 1772.
In 1789 he gave an enlarged and improved edition of
them, in 2 vols. 4to. Fearing a similar fate to his " Lec-
tures on the Practice of Medicine," he published them in
1784, in 4 vols. 8vo, under the title of " First Lines."
But his most esteemed work is his " Synopsis Nosologias
Practicse," in 2 vols. 8vo, which has passed through se-
veral editions; the fourth, published in 1785, contains his
last corrections. The first volume contains the nosologies
of Sauvages, Linnaeus, Vogcl, iSagar, andMucbride; the
second his own, manifestly an improvement on those of
his precursors. A small publication concerning the reco-
very of persons drowned, and seemingly dead, completes
the works of this eminent professor.'
CULLUM (Sir John), an accomplished antiquary, de-
scended from a family seated in Suffolk early in the fifteenth
* Life by Dr. James Anderson, in vol. I. of the Bee.
C U L L U M. 129
century, and at Hawsted in that county in 1656, of which
latter place he has himself been the historian, was born in
1733 ; educated at Catherine-hall, Cambridge, of which so-
ciety he was afterwards fellow ; and obtained tlie first senior
bachelor's dissertation prize in 1758. In April 1762 he was
presented to the rectory of Hawsted, in Suffolk, by his
father, who died in 1774; as did his mother in 1784. In
March 1774, he became F. S. A. ; in December that year
he was instituted to the vicarage of Great Thurlow, in the
same county, on the presentation of his brother-in-law,
the late Henry Vernon, esq.; and in March 1775 was
elected F. R. S. His admirable History of the Parish of
Hawsted (of which he was lord and patron), and Hardwick
House, a perfect model for every work of the same nature,
was originally published as the twenty-third number of the
** Bibliotheca Topographica Britannica," and has in the
present year (1813) been again offered to the public in a
superior style of typography, with the addition of seven
jiew plates.
What collections sir John CuUutn possessed of his own
and Mr. Thomas Martin's, for the county of Suffolk, may
be seen in Mr, Gough's " Anecdotes of British Topogra-
phy," vol. II, pp. 242, 247. Besides a variety of notes
taken in his tours about England, he communicated to the
Gentleman's Magazine : Observations on Cedars, vol.
XLIX. p. 138, and on Yew-trees in Church-yards, ib.
.578 ; to the Phil. Trans, vol. LXXIV. an Account of an
Extraordinary Frost; and to the Antiquarian Repertor}',
No. 32, an Account of St, Mary's church at Bury. He
also revised the second edition, 1771, of the description
of that ancient town.
That sir John Cullutn was a profound antiquar}', a good
natural historian, and an elegant scholar, the " History of
Hawsted" sufficiently evinces. That he most punctually
and conscientiously discharged the proper duties of his
profession as a divine, has been testified by the grateful re-
collection of his parishioners. His discourses in the pulpit
were plain, unaffected, and rarely in any degree contro-
versial ; adapted to the village congregation which he
gladdened by residing very near them. His attention to
their truest interest was unremitted, and his example their
best guide. His friendships in private life were amiable ;
and in his general commerce with the v.orld, the uniform
placidity of his manners, and his extensive literary ac-
VOL. XL K
130 C U L L U M.
quirements, secured to him universal esteem. He was
among the most valued correspondents of Mr. Gough, who
sincerely lamented his loss. A specimen of his familiar
letters will be found in the Gentleman's Magazine for 1797,
vol. LXVII. p. 995.
Sir John Cullum died Oct. 9, 1785, in the fifty-second
year of his age ; and was buried (according to the express
direction of his will, dated Dec. 1, 1784), in the church-
yard at Hawsted, under the great stone that lies at the
north door of the church. His relict, dame Peggy Cul-
lum, the daughter of Daniel Bisson, esq. of West Ham,
died Aug. 2, 1810, aged seventy-eight. Dying without
issue, the title devolved on his brother, now sir Thomas-
Gery Cullum, hart.'
CULPEPPER (Nicholas), student, as he calls him-
self, in physic and astrology, was born in London, Oct.
18, 1616. He was the son of a clergyman, by whom he
was sent, after receiving a preparatory education, to the
university of Cambridge, at the age of eighteen. There
making but a short sta}", he was put apprentice to an apo-
thecary, under whom he appears to have acquired a com-
petent knowledge of the materia medica, and of the me-
thod of preparing and compounding medicines. On
completing the term of his apprenticeship, he came to
London, and settled in Spital-fields about 1642. By the
whole tenor of his writings we find he joined, or at least
favoured the Puritans, and those who were engaged in
those unhappy times in overturning the constitution of the
country. But his warfare was with the college of physi-
cians, whom he accused of craft and ignorance. Like
the popish clergy, he says they endeavoured to keep the
people in ignorance of what might be useful either in pre-
serving or restoring health. To counteract their endea-
vours, he published, in 1649, a translation of the "Dis-
pensary of the College of Physicians," in small 4to, adding
to the account of each drug and preparation a list of their
supposed virtues, and of the complaints in which they
were usually given. He also published an " Herbal,'*
which has passed through several editions, and is still in
repute as a sort of family guide. He tells in this book
under what planet the plants are to be gathered, which he
» Life by Mr. Nichols, in the late edition of the History of Hawsted. See
also some of his correspondence in Granger's Letters, published by MalcoloU,
p. 125.134.
CULPEPPER. 131
thinks essential in preserving their virtues ; but Dr. Pul-
teney says his descriptions of common plants are drawn up
with a clearness and distinction tliat would not have dis-
graced a better pen. He intended to treat of the diseases
incident to men at the different periods of their lives, and
as a beginning, gave a directory to midwives, on the me-
thod of insuring a healthy progeny, and then of the ma-
nagement of new-born children. Ihouiih this book is of
very small value, it passed through many editions. He
died at his house in Spital-fields, Jan. 10, 1653-4.'
CULPEPER or CULPEPPER (Sir Thomas), second
son of sir Thomas Culpeper of Hollingbourne, in Kent,
knifrht, was born in 1636, and entered a commoner of
University college, Oxford, in the beginning of 1640, and
was created B. A. in 1643. He afterwards travelled, and
on his return was elected ])robationer fellow of All Souls*
collefre, but soon retired to his estate in Kent, and after
the restoration received the honour of knighthood. When
lie died is not ascertained, but probably it was about the
end of the seventeenth century. He wrote: 1. "Moral
Discourses and Essays upon several subjects," Lond. 1655,
8vo. 2. " Considerations touching Marriage," 4to. 3. " A
Discourse shewing the many advantages, which will accrue
to this kingdom by the abatement of usury. Together
with the absolute necessity of reducing interest of money
%^ the lowest rate it bears in other countries," ibid. 1668,
4to. This occasioned a short controversy, in consequence
of which sir Thomas wrote, 4. " The necessity of abating
Usury, re-asserted," ibid. 1670, 4to. 5, " Brief Survey
of the growth of Usury in England, with the mischiefs
attending it," ibid. 1671, 4to. 6. " Humble proposal for
the relief of Debtors, and speedy payment of their Cre-
ditors," ibid. 1671, 4to. 7. " Several Objections against
the Reducement of Interest, propounded in a letter, with
the answer thereto," ibid. 1671, 4to. He also wrote a
preface to " A Tract against the high rate of Usury, pre-
sented to the parliament in 1623," and reprinted by him
in 1668 : it was originally written by his father, sir Thomas
Culpeper, who died in 1661, and appears to have be-
queathed to his son his sentimer.ts on usury, and the neces-
sity of adjusting the interest of money on a new rate.'
* Rees's Cyclopadia, from the Gpiit. Mag. vol. LXVM. where those who e.-»ri
fi'cl any interest in Culpepper's history, m.iy meet witU many other particulars
« Atb. Ox. vol. II- -Cent. Mag. vol. LXVII.
K 2
132 CUMBERLAND.
CUMBERLAND (Richard), a very learned divine, and
bishop of Peterborough, the son of an honest citizen of
London, who by his industry acquired a competent, though
not a great fortune, was born in the parish of St. Anne, near
Aldersgate, July 15th, 1632. He was educated at St.
Paul's school, under the care of Mr. John Langley, and was
moved from thence to Magdalen- college, in Cambridge,
probably in 1649, where he was contemporary with some
very worthy and learned persons ; such as Dr. Hezekiah
Burton, his intimate friend and acquaintance, a very
learned and pious divine ; Dr. Hollings, an eminent phy-
sician at Shrewsbury; sir Samuel Moreland, admired for
his skill in the mathematics ; the celebrated Mr. Pepys,
secretary to the admiralty ; and the lord keeper Bridge-
man, to whom himself, and his friend Dr. Burton, were
chaplains at the same time. He was very remarkable,
while fellow of his college, for his diligent application to
his studies, as well as for the unaffected piety and un-
blemished probity of his life. He took his degree of B. A.
in 1653, and in 1656 he became M. A. at which time he
had thoughts of applying himself to physic, which he ac-
tually studied for some time. He was incorporated M. A.
in the university of Oxford, July 14th, 1657, and went
out B. D. at a public commencement at his own university,
A. D. 1663, with universal applause. His first preferment
was the rectory of Brampton, in the deanery of Haddon,
in the archdeaconry and county of Northampton, which
was given him by sir John Norwich, a gentleman who de-
scended of a most ancient and noble family, and was ad-
vanced to the dignity of a baronet by king Charles the
First. Mr. Cumberland was admitted December 3d, 1658,
upon the demise of the reverend I\Ir. John Ward ; and
after the restoration, having never had the least scruple to
the authority of the church, he had a legal institution, and
read the Thirty-nine Articles, as directed by law, No-
vember 24th, 1661, and was the same year appointed one
of the twelve preachers in the university of Cambridge.
This, however, was a temporary avocation' only, owing to
the high character he had raised by the masterly manner
in which he had performed all academical exercises, and
from which he quickly returned to the duties of his paro-
chial charge. In this rural retirement he minded little else
than the duties of his function, and his studies. His re-
laxations from these were very few, besides his journies
CUMBERLAND. 133
to Cambridge, which he made frequently, to preserve a
correspondence with his learned acquaintance in that place.
Here he might probably have remained during the course
of his whole life, if his intin)ate friend and kind benefactor,
sir Orlando Bridgeman, upon his receiving the seals in
1667, had not sent for him up to London, made him his
chaplain, and soon after bestowed upon hiui the living of
Alhallows, in Stamford. He discharged the functions of
his ministry in that great town v.'ith indefatigable diligence;
for, besides the duties incumbent upon him by his pa-
rochial charge, he accepted of the weekly lecture, and
then preached three times every week in the same church,
and at the same time cultivated his philosophical, mathe-
matical, and philological studies. He gave a noble proof
of this, and one which equally demonstrated the soundness
of his morals and the solidity of his parts, in publishing
his work " De Legibus Naturae Disquisitio philosophica,"
Lond. 1672, 4to, written while he was chaplain to sir Or-
lando Bridgeman, to whom it was dedicated, and there is
prefixed to it a short preface to the reader, by the author's
friend and fellow chaplain to the lord-keeper. Dr. Heze-
kiah Burton. Dr. Cumberland being at a distance from
the press when this book was published, it came into the
world very incorrectly printed, and in subsequent editions
these faults were multiplied in a very surprizing manner.
We may hence form an idea of the excellency of a work
that could, notwithstanding, support its author's reputa-
tion both at home and abroad, and be constantly esteemed
one of the best performances that ever appeared, and that
too upon one of the nicest and most important subjects.
Mr. Payne says very justly, that it was one of the first
pieces written in a demonstrative way on a moral subject,
and at the same time the most perfect. It is indeed on all
hands admitted, that Hobbes was never so closely handled,
or his notions so thoroughly sifted, as by Dr. Cumberland.
He has, however, taken a new road, very different from
Grotius, Puffendorff, and other writers, more difficult,
and less entertaining indeed, but at the same time much
more convincing. It was desired that a piece of such ge-
neral utility should be made better known by being put
into an easier method, and translated into the Enirlish Ian-
guage. This the author would not oppose, thougli he did
not undertake it ; being very sensible that the obscurity
complained of by some, was really in the subject itself.
134 CUMBERLAND.
and would be found so by those who meddled with it.
The project, however, was pursued by James Tyrrel, esq.
grandson to the famous archbishop Usher, who published
his performance under the following title : *' A brief Dis-
quisition of the Law of Nature, according to the principles
and method laid down in the reverend Dr. Cumberland's
(now lord bishop of Peterburgh's) Latin treatise on that
subject, &c." London, 1692, Svo. Mr. Payne had also
an intention to have translated it, but was anticipated by
the rev. John Maxwell, in a translation published at Lon-
don, 1727, 4to; and in 17 50 appeared a third translation
by the rev. John Towers, D. D. prebendary of St. Patrick's,
Dublin, 4to, Dublin, with large explanatory notes, &c.
In 1744, Barbeyrac published a French translation.
The high fame and repeated praises of this work did
rot divert the author from his studies or his duties ; and in
his station of a private clergyman, so great was his repu-
tation, that he was importuned by the university, and by
other acquaintance, to take upon him the weighty exer-
cise of responding at the public commencement. No-
thinc: but the earnest solicitation of his friends could have
prevailed with a man void not only of ambition, but of
even the desire of applause, to appear so publicly. This
he did in 1680, in so masterly a manner, as to be remem-
bered for many years after. The next specimen of his
abilities was his " Essay on Jewish Measures and Weights,"
1686, Svo, a work not only highly useful in its nature,
but very much wanted, and was therefore received with
the highest applause by the best judges, who were equally
pleased with the method and matter, as well as the manner
and conciseness, of the performance. It was afterwards
reprinted, and will continue to support the reputation of
its author, as long as this kind of literature is either en--
couraged or understood. His sincere attachment to the
protestant religion made him very apprehensive of its
danger ; and the melancholy pi'ospect of affairs in the
reign of king James made so deep an impression on him
as to affect his health. After the revolution he appears to
have entertained no thoughts of soliciting for better pre-
ferment ; and it was, therefore, a greater surprize to him-
self than to any body else, when walking after his usual
manner, on a post-day, to the coffee-house, he read there
in a newspaper, that one Dr. Cumberland, of Stamford,
was named to the bishopric of Peterborough. This piece
CUMBERLAND. 13^
of intelligence, however, proved true, and he had the
singular satisfaction of finding hinnself raised to a bishopric,
not only without pains or anxiety, but witliout having so
much as sought for it ; but at that time it was necessary to
the establishment of the new government, that men who
were to be raised to these high stations in the church, should
be such only as had been most eminent for their learning,
most exemplary in their lives, and firmest to the protestant
interest; and whilst these qualifications were only con-
sidered, the king, who in two years' time had appointed
no less than fifteen bishops of the above character, was
told that Dr. Cumberland was the fittest man he could no-
minate to the bishopric of Peterborough. He was elected
in the room of Dr. Thomas White, who refused the new
oaths May 15th; was consecrated with other bishops, July
5th, and enthroned September I2th, 1691, in the ca-
thedral of Peterborough. He now applied himself to the
work of a bishop, making no omissions to consult his own
ease, or to spare his pains ; and the desires of his mind,
that all under him should do their duty, were earnest and
sincere. His composition had no alloy of vain-glory. He
never did any thing to court applause, or gain the praise
of men. He never acted a part, never put on a mask.
His tongue and heart always went together. If he ran
into any extreme, it was the excess of humility; he lived
with the simplicity and plainness of a primitive bishop, con-
versed and looked like a private man, hardly maintaining
what the world calls the dignity of his character. He used
hospitality without grudging ; no man's house was more
open to his friends, and the ease and freedom with which
they always found themselves entertained, was peculiar
to it. The poor had substantial relief at his door, and
his neighbours and acquaintance a hearty welcome to his
table, after the plentiful and plain manner in which he
lived. Every thing in his house served for friendly en-
tertainment, nothing for luxury or pomp. His desire was
to make every body easy, and to do them good. He dis-
pensed vv'ith a liberal hand, and in the most private and
delicate manner, to the necessities of others. His speeches
to the clergy at his visitations, and his exhortations to the
catechumens before his confirmations, though they had
not the embellishments of oratory, yet they were fervent
expressions of the inward desires of his soul to do what
good he was able, and to excite others to be influenced
by it ; the pious breathings of a plain and good mind.
136 CUMBERLAND.
On all occasions he treated his clergy with singular regard
and indulgence. An expression that often came from him,
was, '* 1 love always to make my clergy easy." This was
his rule in ail applications made to him by them, and if he
erred, it was always on this side. When the duties of his
office required it, he never spared himself. To the last
month of his life it was impossible to dissuade him from
undertaking fatigues that every body about him feared
were superior to his strength. He was inflexible to their
intreaties, and his answer and resolution vyas, " I will do
my duty as long as I can." He had acted by a maxim
like this in his vigour. When his friends represented to
him, that by his studies and labours he would injure his
health, his usual reply was, *' A man had better wear out
than rust out." The last time he visited his diocese, he
was in the eightieth year of his age ; and at his next trien-
nial, when he was in the eighty-third year of his age, it
was with the utmost difficulty that he could be dissuaded
from undertaking again the visitation of his diocese. To
draw the clergy nearer than the usual decanal meetings,
to make his visitations easier to himself, was a thing he
would not hear of. Such were the public acts of this
great prelate in the discharge of his duty as a father of the
church. In respect to his temporal concerns, and his ma-
nagement of the revenue arising from his see, he was not
less liberal and munificent. His natural parts were not
quick, but strong and retentive. He was a perfect master
of every subject he studied. Every thing he read staid
with him. The impressions on his mind were some time
in forming, but they were clear, distinct, and durable.
The things he had chiefly studied, were researches into
the most ancient times ; mathematics in all its parts ; and
the Scripture in its original languages : but he was also
thoroughly acquainted with all the branches of philosophy,
medicine, and anatomy, and was a good classical scholar.
He was so thoroughly conversant in Scripture, that no diffi-
cult passage ever occurred, either occasionally, or in reading,
but he could readily give the meaning of it, and the se-
veral interpretations, without needing to consult his books.
He sometimes had thoughts of writing an exposition of
the Epistles to the Romans and Galatians, with a view to.
set the doctrine of justification in a light very different
from that in which it has been hitherto considered by most
divines, but what that light was we are not told. One of
CUMBERLAND. 137
his chief objects was the examination of Sanchonlatho's
Phoenician History, about which the greatest men had
been most mistaken, and in relation to which none had
entered into so strict an examination as our learned pre-
late thought it deserved. He spent many years in these
speculations ; for he began to write several years before
the revolution, and he continued improving his design
down to 1702. It may be justly wondered, that, after
taking so much pains, and carrying a work of such diffi-
culty to so high a degree of perfection, he should
never judge it expedient to publish it; for though his
bookseller refused to print the first part at a critical sea-
son, yet afterwards both might have seen the light; and
for this the most probable reason that can be assigned
is, that thorough dislike he had to controversy. His
son-in-law, ijowever, the rev. Mr. Payne, has done justice
to his memor}-, and published it under the title of" San-
chonlatho's PluEuician History, translated from the first
book of Eusebius de Preparatione Evangelica," &c. Lond.
1720, 8vo. Mr. Payne observes, that our author had a
quicker sense than many other men, of the advances po-
pery was making upon us, and was affected with the ap-
prehension of it to the last degree. This made him turn
his thoughts to the inquiry, by what steps and methods
idolatry got ground in the world. The oldest account of
this he believed he found in Sanchoniatho's fragment.
This he saw was a professed apology for idolatry, and
owned openly what other heathens would have made a se-
cret of, that the gods of the Gentile world had been all
mortal men. He studied this fraoment with no other view
than as it led to the discovery of the original of idolatry.
He spent some time upon it, before ever he had a thought
of extracting from it footsteps of the history of the world
preceding the flood. While other divines of the church of
England were engaged in the controversy with the papists,
in which they gained over them so complete a victory,
our author was endeavouring to strike at the root of their
idolatrous reliirion. These frasrments have exercised the
talents of some of the ablest scholars that foreign nations
have produced, and several of these, being able to make
nothino- clear or consistent out of them, incline to think
they were forgeries, and consequently not worthy of no-
tice. Our prelate was not only of a different sentiment,
f3ut with great knowledge and great labour, has made it
138 CUMBERLAND.
very evident that these fragments are genuine, and that
he thoroughly understood them. He has proved that they
contain the most ancient system of atheism and idolatry ;
that very system which took place in Egypt, and was set
up against the true religion contained in the writings of
Moses.
After bishop Cumberland had once engaged his thoughts
upon this subject, fresh matter was continually rising, for
the distribution of which into a proper method, so as to
render a very perplexed subject intelligible, he found him-
self under the necessity of undertaking a yet more extensive
work than the former, in which he made some progress in
the space of above twenty years, during which it employed
his thoughts. To this piece, when finished, he proposed
to have given the title of " Origines Antiquissimse,"
which were transcribed in his life-time, and, by his di-
rection, by Mr. Payne. This treatise, which is properly
a supplement to the first, was published in 1724, 8vo,
under the title of " Origines Gentium Antiquissimge,"
or Attempts for discovering the times of the first planting
of nations, in several tracts. — In bishop Cumberland's
old age, he retained the easiness and sweetness of his
temper, which continued to the last day of his life. His
senses and bodily strength were more perfect than could
w;_ell be expected, in a man whose course of life had been
studious and sedentary. He remained a master of all the
parts of learning he had studied when he was young. He
ever loved the classics, and to the last week of his life
would quote them readily^ and appositely. When Dr.
Wilkins had published his Coptic Testament, he made a
present of one of them to his lordship, who sat down to
study this when he was past eighty-three. At this age he
mastered the language, and went through great part of
this version, and would often give excellent hints and re-
marks as he proceeded in reading it. At length, in the
autumn of 17 18, he was struck in an afternoon with a dead
palsy, and breathed his last in his palace at Peterborough
on October 9, in the same year, in the eighty-seventh
year of his age. His corpse was interred in his own ca-
thedral, where a plain tomb has been erected, with a
modest inscription to his memory. His reputation at the
time of his death was very great at home, and much greater
abroad. He is mentioned in the highest terms of resj)ect
by many foreign writers, particularly Niccron, MorholT,
CUMBERLAND. 139
Thomasius, Stollius, and Fourmont. His fame now rests
chiefly on the works he published in his life-time. The
Sanclioniatho and the Origines, although they afford ample
demonstration of learned research, have not so well pre-
served their credit.
His great grandson, the subject of the next article, in-
forms us upon the authority of his father, Dr. Denison
Cumberland, that at the end of every year, whatever over-
plus bishop Cumberland found upon a minute inspection
of his accounts, was by him distributed to the poor, re-
serving only one small deposit of 25/. in cash, found at his
death in his bureau, with directions to employ it for the
discharge of his funeral expences; a sum, in his modest
calculation, fully sufficient to commit his body to the
earth. — The late Mr. Cumberland deposited in the library
of Trinity-college, Cambridge, a copy of the bishop's work
*' De Legibus Naturae," interleaved and corrected through-
out by Dr. Bentley. *
CUMBERLAND (Richard), a late dramatic and mis-
cellaneous writer, was the great grandson of the preceding.
His father, Denison, so named from his mother, was edu-
cated at Westminster school, and from that admitted fel-
low-commoner of Trinity college, Cambridge. He mar-
ried, at the age of twenty-two, Joanna, the younger
daughter of Dr. Richard Bentley (the Phoebe of Byron's
Pastoral) ; by whom he had a daughter, Joanna, and Ri-
chard, the subject of this article. Though in possession
of an independent fortune, he was readily prevailed upon
by his father-in-law to take the rectory of Stanwick, in
Northamptonshire, given to him by lord chancellor King,
as soon as he was of age to hold it. From this period he
fixed his constant residence in that retired spot, and se-
dulously devoted himself to the duties of his function,
never holding any Other preferment for thirty years, ex-
cept a small prebend in the church of Lincoln, given hin»
by his uncle bishop Reynolds, He was in the commission
of the peace, and a very active magistrate in the reconcile-
ment of parties rather than in the conviction of persons. —
When the rebels were on the march, and had advanced to
Derby, he raised among the neighbouring parishes two com-
panies of 100 men each for the regiment then enrolling
under the command of the earl of Halifax, and marched
* Biog. Brit, principally from archiieacon Payne's Account, prefixed to
Ui$ SaachoiiiatbOa
140 CUMBERLAND.
them in person to Northampton. The earl, as a mark of
his consideration, insisted upon bestowing one of the com-
panies upon his son, who being too young to take the com-
iriaud, an officer was named to act in his place. Some
time after, on the approach of the general election for the
county of Northampton, a contest took place with the
rival parties of Knightly and Hanbury, or, in other words,
between the tories and the whigs. His politics accorded
with the latter, and he gave a very active and effectual
support to his party. His exertions, though unsuccessful,
were not overlooked by the earl of Halifax, who was then
high in office, and lord lieutenant of the county. Offers
were pressed upon him ; yet, though he was resolute in
declining all personal favours, he was persuaded to lend
an ear to flattering situations pointed out for his son, who
was short!}' afterwards employed by lord Halifax as his
confidential secretary. In 1757 he exchanged the living
of Stanwick for Fulham, in order to be nearer his son,
whose attendance on the earl of Halifax required his resi-
dence in town. On the earl being appointed lord- lieu-
tenant of Ireland, he was made one of his chaplains ; and
in 1763, at the close of his lordship's administration, was
promoted to the bishopric of Clonfert. In this situation he
much ingratiated himself with all classes of people by his
benevolence and geneiosit3\ He introduced many im-
provements and comforts among the Irish peasantry. He
encouraged the English motle of agriculture by judicious
rewards ; and, as one of the members of the linen trade,
introduced a number of spinning-wheels, and much good
linen was made in consequence. This improving manu-
facture formed an interesting occupation also to iiis lad}^
and flourished under her care. The- city of Dublin pre-
sented him with his freedom in a gold box, an honour
never before (except in the remarkable instance of dean
iSwift) conferred on any person below the rank of a
chief governor; and the deed which accompanied it as-
signed as the motive, the great respectability of his cha-
racter, and his disinterested protection of the Irish clergy.
In 1772 he was translated to the see of Kilmore. Some
alarming symptoms soon after indicated the breaking up
of his constitution, which was increased by the anxiety he
experienced, through the debility and loss of health of his
amiable la^v._^\'lien his son took leave of him at the end
of his suaiffl^r\'is^t,'^iYe bishop expressed an intention of
C U M E E ULAN D. 141
attempting a journey to England; but died in the winter of
the same year ; and this sad event was speedily succeeded
by the death of his lady, whose weak and exhausted frame
sunk under the blow, May 27, 1775.
Richard, the subject of this article, was born Feb. 19,
1732, under the roof of his grandfather Bentley, in the
master's lodge in Trinity college. When turned of six years
of age, he was sent to the school at Bury St. Edmund's,
then under the mastership of the reverend Arthur Kins-
man. For some time he made but little progress in his
learning; till Kinsman, having observed his low station in
the school, publicly reproved him ; and thus roused in
him a spirit of emulation. While he continued in this
school, his grandfather Bentley died ; and the affectionate
manner in which Kinsman imparted the melancholy event
to him, with the kind regard he evinced for his improve-
ment, wrought so much upon his mind, that his task be-
came his delight. In his exercises, however, he describes
himself, in his " Memoirs," as aiming at something like
fancy and invention, and as being too frequently be-
trayed into grammatical errors, which did him no credit
witli his master, who commented on his blunders in
one instance with great severity, producing so great an
effect on his sensibility, that he never perfectly recovered
it. It was about this time that he made his first attempt
in English verse ; the subject of which was an excursion
he had made with his family in the summer holida3's to visit
a relation in Hampshire, which engaged him in a descrip-
tion of the docks at Portsmouth, and of the races at Win-
chester, where he had been present. This little poem he
exhibited to his father, who received it with unreserved
commendation, and persisted in reciting it to his intimates,
when its author had gained experience enough to wish it
had been consigned to oblivion. In the intervals from
school his mother began to form both his taste and his ear
for poetry, of which art she was a very able mistress, by
employing him every evening to read to her. Their read-
ings were, with few exceptions, confmed to Shakspeare,
whom she both admired and understood in the true spirit
and sense of the author. Under her instruction he became
passionately fond of these evening entertainments, and the
effect was several attempts on his part towards the drama.
He was then head -boy of Bury school, though only in his
12th year. He fitted and compiled a kind of cento, en-
142 C U M B E il L A N D.
titled " Shakspeare in the Shades," in one act, in xvhich
the characters of Hamlet and Ophelia, Romeo and Juliet,
Lear and Cordelia, were introduced, and Ariel as an at-
tendant spirit on Shakspeare, who is present through the
piece: some extracts from this juvenile production are
printed in his " Memoirs." Mr, Kinsman intimating his
purpose of retiring from Bury school, young Cumberland
was transplanted to Westminster, and admitted under Dr.
Nichols, where he remained about a year and a half; and
particularly profited there in point of composition. When
only in his fourteenth year, he was admitted of Trinity
college, Cambridge, where he had two tutors, who took
little care of him; but the inconvenience of this being soon
felt, the master of the college, Dr. Smith, in the last year of
his being under-graduate, recommended him to lose no timef
in preparing for his degree, and to apply closely to his
academical studies for the remainder of the year. During
the year of trial, he determined to use every effort for re-
deeming lost time ; he began a course of study so appor-
tioned as to allow himself but six hours' sleep, to which he
strictly adhered, living almost entirely upon milk, and
using the cold bath very frequently. In the several branches
of mechanics, hydrostatics, optics, and astronomy, he made
himself master of the best treatises ; he worked all his pro-
positions, and formed all his minutes, even his thoughts,
in Latin, and thereby acquired advantages superior to
some of the best of his contemporaries in public disputa-
tions ; for, so long as his knowledge of a question could
supply matter for argument, he never felt any want of
terms for explanation. In consequence of this diligence,
he was enabled to go through his scholastic exercises four
times in the course of the year, keeping two acts and two
first opponencies, and acquitted himself with great credit.
On being cited to the senate house for examination for
the bachelor's degree, he was kept perpetually at the table
under the process of question and answer. His constitu-
tion, considerably impaired by the intense application he
had given, just held him up to the expiration of the scru-»
tiny ; and on hastening to his father's, he soon fell ill of a
rheumatic fever, 'from which, after six months' care and
attention, he was recovered. While in this state of ex-
treme indisposition, a high station was adjudged to hini
amongst the wranglers of his year.
Having thus, in 1750, at an age more than commonly
CUMBERLAND. 143
early, obtained his bachelor's degree, with tlie return of
his health he resumed his studies, and, without neglect-
ing those he had lately been engaged in, again took up
those authors who had lain by untouched for a whole twelve-
month. Being in the habit of reading upon system, he
began to form coilectanea of his studies. With this view he
got together all the tracts relative to the controversy
between Boyle and Bentley, omitting none even of the
authorities and passages they referred to ; and having done
this, compressed the reasonings on both sides into a kind of
statement and report upon the question in dispute ; and,
havinor accomplished this, he meditated upon a plan little
short of what might be projected for an universal history,
or at least for that of the great empires in particular. But
he was perhaps more agreeably employed in reading the
Greek tragedians; and when Mason published his Elfrida,
was warm in his praise of that generally-admired produc-
tion ; and, in imitation, planned and composed an entire
drama, of which Caractacus was the hero, with bards and
druids attached to it as a chorus, for whom he wrote odes.
About this time his father was persuaded to listen to
some flattering offers of situations for him ; but, as his
health was still in an unsettled state, he joined with his
family in an excursion to York, where he passed half a
year in the society and amusements of that city. The
style of living there was a perfect contrast with what he had
been accustomed to : he hunted in the mornings, danced
in the evenings, and devoted but little time to study. He
here got hold of Spenser's Fairy Queen, in imitation of
which he began to write stanzas to the same measure ; at
other times he also composed short elegies in the manner
of Hammond ; but for these pursuits he was seasonably
reproved by his mother, and relinquished them ; and on
his return to college, he vvas soon invited to the master's
lodge by Dr. Smith, who honoured him with approbation
of his past exertions, and imparted to him a new arrange-
ment that had been determined upon, for annulling so
much of the existing statutes as restricted all bachelors of
arts, except those of the third year's standing, from ofl'er-r
ing themselves candidates for fellowships. Dr. Smith also
kindly recommended him, as he should be in the second
year of his degree at the next election, to present himself
for examination.
Whilst he vvas preparing to resume his studies with in-
144 CUMBERLAND.
creased attention, he received a summons from lord Hali-
fax to assume the situation of his private confidential se-
cretary. He accordingly came to town ; but, among the
new connexions in which he was cousequently thrown, he
met with nothing that in any degree interested him, and at
the recess he accompanied lord Halifax to Horton, and
from thence went to Cambridge. There were six va-
cancies, and six candidates of the year above him. They
undervv^ent a severe examination from the electing seniors ;
and Cumberland particularly from Dr. Smith, the master;
and on the next day Cumberland and Mr. Orde (afterwards
master in chancery), who was of the same year, were an-
nounced as elected, to the exclusion of two of the year
above diem. After his election, he went home to Stan-
wick, and from thence made a short visit to lord Halifax.
On his return to town he was as much sequestered from
the world as if he had been resident in his college. About
this time he made his first small offering to the press, fol-
lowing the steps of Gray with another churchyard *' Elegy,
written on St. Mark's Eve," when, according to rural tra-
dition, the ghosts of those who are to die within the year
ensuing are seen to walk at midniarht across the church-
yard. It had been written in one of his college vacations,
some time before he belonged to lord Halifax : " The pub-
lic," he observes in his Memoirs, " were very little in-
terested with it, and Dodsley as little profited."
While he was with lord Halifax, Mr. Charles Towns-
hend was passing a few days at Horton ; and among a
variety of subjects which his active imagination was for
ever starling, something occurred to his recollection of an
enigmatical sort, that he wished to have the solution of,
and could not strike upon it : it was only to be done by a
geometrical process, which Cumberland hit upon : he
worked it as a problem, and gave a solution in writing,
with which Mr. Townshend was much pleased. Mr. Towns-
hend afterwards put into Cumberland's hands a long and
elaborate report of his own drawing up (for he was then
one of the lords of trade) ; and requested him to revise it,
and give his remarks without reserve ; and the manner in
which this service was performed strengthened Mr. Towns*
liend's good opinion of Cumberland.
About this time he employed himself in collecting ma-
terials from the History of India, for the plan of a poem iu
lieroic verse, on which he bestowed considerable labour,
CUMBERLAND. 145
and in which he had made some progress. This desio^n,
however, was laid aside; hut a specimen of it, respecting
the discoveries of the Portuguese, is preserved in liis
" Memoirs."
After the death of lady Halifax, on coming to town for
the winter season with his patron, he read and wrote in-
cessantly, and lived in all the temperance, and nearly all
the retirement, of a hermit. The residence in town, how-
ever, which his attendance upon lord Halifax entailed
iipon him, and the painful separation from his family,
became almost insupportable to him. But, whilst he was
meditating a retreat, his father exchanged his living of
Stanvvick for Fulham, in order to afford him an easier ac-
cess to his friends. In consequence of his occasional visits
there, he became a frequent guest at La Trappe, the
house of the eccentric Mr. Dodington, and passed much
lime with him there, in London also, and occasionally ia
Dorsetshire, His attendance on lord Halifax did not pre-
vent his continuing this intimacy : indeed it was corre-
spondent with lord Halifax's wishes that he should cultivate
Mr. Dodington's acquaintance; for his lordship not only
lived with him upon intimate terms as a friend, but was
now in train to form some opposition connexions, havino-
at this time thrown up his office of first lord of trade and
plantations, and detached himself from the duke of New-
castle's administration. In the summer of this year he
went to Eastbury, the seat of Mr. Dodington, where he
remained some time, and had ample opportunity of ob-
serving the character of his host, of which he has given an
interesting description in his "Memoirs," as well as that
of many distinguished visitors there. Lord Halifax and
some friends were resident there during the whole of his
visit; and during the same period, Cumberland addresseU
a poem of 400 lines to Dodington, partly in compliment
to him, and in part consolatory to lord Halifax upon the
event of his retiring from public office : they flattered the
politics then in favour with Mr. Dodington, and coincided
with his wishes for detachinor lord Halifax from the admi-
nistration of the duke of Newcastle.
On his return from Dorsetshire he was invited by his
friends at Trinity college to offer himself as a candidate for
a lay-fellowship then vacant, in which he succeeded, but
did not hold it long, as it could oidy be held on the terms
©f celibacy. About this time he vvTote bis first legitimate
Vol. XI. L
146 C U M B E R L A N D.
drama, in five acts, *' The Banishment of Cicero ;" u per-
formance which, though occasionally inaccurate in the dic-
tion, and the plot totally unsuited to scenic exhibition, as
a dramatic poem will bear examination. It was, however,
rejected by Garrick, as unfit for the stage, but published
by the author in 1761, 4to.
Having obtained, through the patronage of lord Halifax,
a small establishment as crown agent for Nova Scotia, Mr.
Cumberland tendered his addresses to Elizabeth, the only
daughter of George Ridge, esq. of Kilmiston, Hants, to
whom he was married, Feb. 19, 1759. On the king's ac-
cession to the throne, Mr. Cumberland composed and pub-
lished without his name, a poem in blank verse addressed
to the young sovereign ; and on the appointment of lord
Halifax to be lord lieutenant of Ireland, he accompanied
that nobleman as Ulster secretary, and his father was
made one of the chaplains. William Gerard Hamilton was
at this time chief secretary, but not by the choice of lord
Halifax, to whom he was little known, and in the first
instance not altogether acceptable, and Cumberland's si-
tuation appears to have been unpleasant. However, to-
wards the close of the session his lordship expressed his
satisfaction in Cumberland's services, and oflfered him a
baronetcy, an honour which after due consideration he
declined, though he says he had afterwards reason to think
that it contributed to weaken his interest with lord Halifax,
Why such an honour should have been ofi'ered to a young
man totally unprovided for, we know not. Even wlien his
patron was made secretary of state, he applied, in vain, for
the situation of under-secretary, and afterwards obtained
only the clerkship of reports in the oflSce of trade and
plantations under the earl of Hillsborough.
Bickerstaff having brought forward with success his
operas of " Love in a Village," and " The Maid of the
Mill," Mr. Cumberland attempted a drama of that sort,
under the title of " The Summer's Tale," which was per-
formed for nine or ten nights, but with no great applause ;
the music to it was the production of Bach, Arne, Arnold,
and Simpson. This drama was published in 1765, and the
author afterwards cut it down to an afterpiece of two acts,
and exhibited it luider the title of " Amelia" with very
tolerable success; and published it in 1768. His next
production was the comedy of "The Brothers," v.hich was
, C U M B E R L A N D. 147
hrought out at Covent Garden, and well received, and
published in 1769.
During a visit at his father's at Clonfert, in a little closet
at the back of the palace, with no other prospect than a
shigle turf-stack, he began to plan and compose " The
West Indian." It was his oi)ject always in his hours of
study, so to place himself, as to have little or nothing to
ilistract his attention. During his stay in Ireland, he re-
ceived from the university of Dublin the honorary degree
of LL.D. On iiis return to London he entered into an en-
gagement with Garrick to bring out the " West Indian" at
his theatre; and availed himself of Garrick's suggestions
in adding a nev/ scene and other improvements. This
piece (which appeared in 1771) proved successful beyond
the utmost expectation of its author, who was aware tliat
the moral was not quite unexceptionable.
Mr. Cumberland now for the first time entered the lists of
controversy, in a pamphlet entitled " A Letter to the ri^^ht
rev. the lord bishop of O d (Lowth) containing some
animadversions upon a character given of the late Dr.
Bentley, in a Letter from a late professor in the university
of Oxford to the riuht rev. author of the Divine Lesfation.*' /
ccc. It passed through two editions. Dr. Lowth did not
reply to this pamphlet : nor did he accept the services of
a clergyman of his diocese, who offered to undertake it ;
acknowledging that Cumberland had just reason for re-
taliation.
During his residence in Queen Anne-street East, an
event occurred wliich evinced in a striking manner his dis-
interested generosity and high sense of honour. He was
visited by an old clergyman, the rev. Decimus Reynolds,
son of bishop Reynolds, and first cousin to his father. This
gentleman, without any previous ititimacy, had bequeathed
to Ciunberland his estate twenty years before : he brono-ht
the will in his hand ; but required that Cumberland
should accompany him to a conveyancer, and direct that a
positive deetl of gift should be drawn up ; for which pur-
pose he had brought the title-deeds, and should leave
them with Cumberland. Cumberland conjured Mr. Rey-
nolds to inform him if he had any cause of displeasure with
his nearer relations; stating that his natural heir was a man
of most unexceptionable worth and good character. Mr.
Reynolds stated that he left it to Cumberland, as beino- the
L 2
148 CUMBERLAND.
representative of the maternal branch of his family ; that
Cumberland's father had ever been his valued friend; and
that he had constantly watched Cumberland's character,
though l)e had not established any personal acquaintance
with him. Upon this explanation, and the evidence of
Mr. Reynolds's having inherited no atom of his fortune from
his paternal line, Cumberland consented to the drawing
lip of the deed, causing, however, highly to his honour, a
clause of resumption to be inserted, impowering the donor
to revoke his deed at any future time. This clause Mr.
Reynolds was with great difficulty prevailed on to admit;
prophetically observing, that it left him exposed to the
solicitations of his relations, and in the debility of age, he
might be pressed into a revocation of what he had decided
upon as the most deliberate act of his life. After ten
years of uninterrupted cordiality between them, this re-
sumption actually took place ; major Reynolds, the nephew
of tiie old gentleman, bringing his order for tlie whole of
the title-deeds ; which were immediately delivered up by
Cumberland exactly as he had received them.
About this time he became a member of a pleasant li*
terary society, who used to dine together upon stated days
at the British cotFee-house ; and at one of these meetings
it vs'as suggested to him to delineate the character of a
North Briton, as he had already those of an Irishman and
a West Indian. He adopted the suggestion, and began to
frame the character of Colin Macleod, in his comedy of
*' The Fashionable Lover," upon the model of a Highland
servant who, with scrupulous integrity and a great deal of
nationality about him, managed all the domestic affairs of
sir Thomas Mills's household, and being a great favourite
of every body who resorted there, became in time, as it
were, one of the company. This comedy, in point of
composition, he thought superior to the West Indian ; but it
did not obtain equal success with that drama. When this
play came out, he made serious appeals against cavillers
and slanderers below his notice, which induced Garrick to
call him *' the man without a skin," and this soreness to
criticism became afterwards one of the most distinguishing
features of his character. His fourth comedy of *' The
C4ioleric Man," was performed with approbation ; but its
author was charged in the pui^lic prints with venting
contemptuous and illiberal speeches against his contem-
poraries. This induced him to prefix to his con^cdy, when he
CUMBERLAND. H9
pu))lished it, a " Dedication to Detraciion," the chief oLject
of wliich was directed to a tract entitled '' An Essay on
the Theatre," in which the writer professes to draw a com-
parison between huighing and sentimental comedy, and
under the hitter description particularly points his obser-
vations to " The Fashionable Lover."
His next dramatic production was *' Timon of Athens,"
altered from Shakspeare, in which the entire part of
Evanthe, and, with very few exceptions, the whole of Al-
cibiades, were new. The public approbation sanctioned
the attempt at the first production of the play; but it has
since been neglected. In compliance with the wishes of
Moody, who had become the established performer of
Irish characters, Cumberland sketched another Hibernian,
on a smaller scale, in the entertainment of " The Note of
Hand, or a Trip to Newmarket," which was the last of his
pieces that Garrick produced before he disposed of his
property in Drury-lane. His tragedy of " The Battle of
Hastinns" was brought out there under the direction of Mr.
■ 1 • 1
Sheridan. In his own judgment it was better written
than planned. It was published in 1773.
His prospects in life began now to brighten ; for, on the
accession of lord George Germaine to office, he was pro-
moted to be secretary to the board of trade, which pro-
duced an increase of income that could not be otherwise
than acceptable to the father of six children. His lordship
took particular notice of Cumberland, and continued his
kind patron and friend till death.
Mr. Cumberland afterwards resided atTetworth in Bed-
fordshire, in the vicinity of the house of his honoured
friend lady Frances Burgoyne, sister of lord Halifax. Here
he passed his summer recesses; and in one of them wrote
his opera of " Calypso," which was brought out at Covent
Garden ; but did not meet with very great success. In the
foUowinor season Cumberland wrote " The Widow of Del-
phi, or the descent of the Deities," which has never been
printed, but received frequent revisions and corrections
in the MS. and its author considered it in this improved
state as one of his most classical productions. About this
time appeared his tragi-comedy of " The Bondman," and
" The Duke of Milan," altered ; neither of which has been
printed.
In 1780, Cumberland was appointed on a confidential
mission to the courts of Lisbon and Madrid ; a situation
150 CUMBERLAND.
which, however honourable, seems to have laid the foun-
dation of all his future distresses, and to have embittered
every remaining hour of a long-protracted existence. The
direct object of his embassy was to draw the court of Spain
into a separate treaty of peace with this country ; and but
for the disturbances which took place at that period in
London, it is probable that he migbt have proved success-
ful in his endeavours, since his conduct gave the most per-
fect satisfaction to the Spanish court, and even procured
him the particular confidence and attachment of their king.
From these events, and other untoward circumstances, he
was, in 1781, recalled, after having contracted a debt of
near 5000/. in the service of his country, not one shilling
of which lord North's ministry ever thought proper to re-
pay him, and to discharge which he was compelled to dis-
pose of the whole of his hereditary property. If it be said
that all this rests on Mr. Cumberland's authority, it may
purely be I'eplied that no member of that ministry has at-
tempted to deny his account. It has indeed been asserted
that he exceeded his commission, but in what respects we
are not told, nor whether the losses he sustained were not
too heavy a punishment for an error in judgment. He
informs us that upon his journey home through France, his
bills were stopped, and his credit so completely bard<rupt,
that he would have been put in prison at Bayonne, had
not a friendly fellow-traveller advanced him 500/. which
enabled him to pay his way through France and reach his
home.
Upon Mr. Burke's bill of economy, and the consequent
dismission of the bo9rd of trade, Mr. Cumberland retired
with a compensation far from adequate to the emolunients
of the place he was deprived of, and fixed his abode at
Tunbridge Wells, having made considerable reductions in
his establishment. His first publication after his return
from Spain was his " Anecdotes of eminent Painters in
Spain," 1782, 2 vols. 12mo, an interesting and curious
work ; rendered more complete in 1787 by the publication
of " A Catalogue of the king of Spain's Paintings," which
had been drawn up purposely for Cumberland's use while
irt Spain, and transmitted to him after his return to England.
Before he settled himself at Tunbridge Wells he had
written his comedy of "The Walloons," which was brought
out at Covent Garden theatre, and followed by " The
JVIysterioi^s Husband" in 1783, and u tragedy entitled
CUMBERLAND. 151
" The Arab," but which was acted once only for an actor's
benefit, and has never since been put to any use.
In 1783 appeared his " Letter to the bishop of Llandafif,"
respecting his proposal for equalizing the revenues of the
hierarchy and dignitaries of the Church Established ;
and in 1785 his tragedy of "The Carmelite" was brought
out; and his comedy of " The Natural Son." The col-
lection of essays, under the title of " The Observer," were
also first printed this year experimentally at Tunbridge
Wells, in 2 vols. 12ino. He afterwards engaged with
Charles Dilly to publish a new edition, and thereupon
stopped the impression of the old. The new edition was
considerably augmented, and appeared in five volumes in
1786, When this was out of print he made a fresh ar-
rangement of the essays, and, incorporating his entire
translation of " The Clouds of Aristophanes," edited the
work thus modelled in 6 vols. They have since been in-
corporated in the collection of " The British Essayists."
In 1785 also appeared the " Character" of his kind patron
lord Sackville, which he has farther illustrated in his
*' Memoirs." About this time he published, anonymously,
a pamphlet entitled " Curtius rescued from the Gulph,"
in consequence, as he says, " of Dr. Parr's having hit an
unoffending gentleman too hard, by launching a huge
fragment of Greek at his defenceless head. He made as
good a fight as he could, and rummaged his indexes for
quotations, which he crammed into his artillery as thick as
grape-shot, and in mere sport fired them off against a rock
invulnerable as the armour of Achilles." It is indeed but
a very superficial performance.
In 1789 appeared his comedy of "The Impostor;" and
"Arundel, a Novel," 2 vdls. 12mo, the latter hastily put
together in a few weeks at Brighthelmstone, and sent to
the press in parcels as he wrote it. This novel, rapidly-
composed as it was, met with success ; on which he re-
solved to bestow his utmost care and diligence on a second,
which appeared in 171)5, in 4 vols. 12mo, under the title
of " Henry." In 1792 he published his " Calvary, or the
Death of Christ, a Poem, in eight books," 4to. To this
work he had applied himself with uncommon ardour; he
began it in the winter, and, rising every morning some
hours before day-light, soon dispatched the whole poem
of eight books at the average of full fifty lines a day, of
which he kept a regular account, marking each day's
152 CUMBERLAND.
work upon the MS. This poem has since been repubhshed
in a more portable size in 2 vols.
Among his productions of tiie more serious cast may be
included his " Version of Fifty of the Psalms of David,"
upon which he bestowed great attention : and his religions
and argumentative tract entitled " A few plain Reasons
why we should believe in Christ, and adhere to his Reli-
gion ;" a copy of which he presented, with due deference,
to the archbishop of Canterbury and the bishop of London,
the latter of whom honoured him with a very gracious ac-
knowledgement by letter. He wrote also as many ser-
UTions as would make a large volume, some of which have
been delivered from the pulpit ; and was for some years in
the habit of composing an appropriate prayer of thanks-
giving for the last day in the year, and of supplication for
the lirst day of the succeeding year. He was accustomed
also to select passages from the Old Testament, and turn
them into verse ; of which he has given a specimen in his
*' Memoirs."
In 1793, be brought out a comic opera in three acts,
founded on the story of Wat Tyler; which, being objected
to by the lord chamberlain, he was obliged to new-model,
and produce under the title of " The Armourer." He also
brought out a comedy under the title of "The Country
Attorney" at the summer theatre, when it was under the
direction of the elder Mr. Colman. At the same theatre
appeared in 1794 his *' Box Lobby Challenge," a co-
jnedy, and his drama of " Don Pedro." On the opening
of the new theatre at Drury Lane, his comedy of '' The
Jew" was represented; which he had composed with great
rapidity. This was the second instance of his coming for-
ward to raise the character of that people from the un-
merited contempt and ridicule which they had uniformly
before experienced. In the preceding season came out
his comedy of " The Wheel of Fortune," which was
closely followed by " First Love, a Comedy."
In 1796 appeared at Covent Garden his '' Days of Yore,
a Drama." In 1797, at Drury Lane, "The last of the
Family, a Comedy." Five other comedies were also suc-
cessively produced by him. " False Impressions," at Co-
vent Garden ; " The Word for Nature;" "The Depen-
dant;" " The Eccentric Lover;" and "The Sailor's Daugh-
ter," at Drury Lane.
He made annual visits to Mrs. Bludvvorih's at Holt neav
CUMBERLAND. 153
Winchester ; where, being absent from his books, he
amused himself with poetical trifles on various subjects,
some of which he has preserved in his Memoirs ; as well as
many other pieces written on other occasions. In 1806 he
brought out his " Hint to Husbands, a Comedy," at Co-
vent Garden, which was pertormed for five nights only.
In the same year he published '• Memoirs of his own Life,"
4to, to which he afterwards added a Supplement, of which
we have availed ourselves in this sketch.
The j)ublications he was afterwards concerned in are,
*' The Exodiad," an epic poem, written in conjunction
with sir James Bland Burges. " John de Lancaster," a
novel, in 3 vols, and " Joanna of Montfaucon," a dramatic
roiiiance. He was also the conductor of " The London
Review," a new attempt, in which the reviewers gave
their names, but it did not succeed. From the time of
liis secession from public life, Mr. Cumberland resided at
Tunbridge Wells, devoting his time solely to his literary
occupations. Here he lost his wife, the happy partner of
all his joys, his affectionate consoler in every sorrow. This
stroke of affliction he bore with the resignation of a man
of sense, convinced, as he says, that patience is no mark
of insensibility, nor the parade of lamentation any evidence
of the sincerity or permanency of grief
During the ahirm of invasion he headed two companies
of volunteer infantry, and received the commission of
major-commandant. So beloved was he by his corps, that
they honoured him with a sword as a mark of their esteem ;
and at the conclusion of the peace, agreed to serve under
him without receiving their customary pay. His last days
were spent chiefly in London, where he died May 7, IMl 1,
after a few days illness, at the house of his friend, Mr. Henry
Fry, Bedford-place. The last act of his life was the publica-
tion of a poem called " Retrospection," a kind of legacy of
opinions concerning the " men and things" more fully
handled in his Memoirs. In appreciating the personal
character of Mr. Cumberland, the reader may be very
safely directed to these *' Memoirs," where the disguise of
self-esteem is too thin to hide what is attempted to be
hidden. It was Mr. Cumberland's misfortune to be bred a
courtier, and never to have attained his degrees in that
school. In a subordinate station, the duties of which were
technical and formal, he performed them like others, but
was peculiarly unfortunate in venturing to act the minister.
154 C U M B E R L A N D.
Mr. Cumherland having associated with ahiiost all the
ennnent literary characters of his da}', has introduced many
strikidtr sketches and anecdotes of theui in his " Memoirs."
In company his aim was to please by retailing these, and
in the art of pleasing in conversation few men iiave been
more successful, and few would have been r-:ore praise-
worthy, had he been more sincere in his c. ^pliraents to
those who were present, or less bitter in his saxcasnis on
them after they had taken their leave. By this, however,
although it occasionally administered to mirth, he lOst more
than he gained ; and his address, polite, stui led, and
courtier-like, soon became depreciated beyond all recovery.
As a writer, the number of his works is perhaps the most
striking circumstance ; but many of them, it may be re-
membered, were hastily written, and produced to better
his income at a time when a succession of statesmen iiad
agreed to forget that such a man ever held a public station.
Whatever else he wrote, the drama was his favourite pur-
suit, from which he could seldom endure a long interrup-
tion ; and this seems to have created in his mind a ready
play of imaginaiion which unfitted him for the serious con-
cerns of real life and business. As a poet, he «annot rank
very high ; elegant versification and sentiment, however,
throw a ch.arm over some of his poetical works which has
ensured them a considerable share of popularity. His
*' Observer," now that he has acknowledged how much he
took from Bentley's MSS. no longer supports his character
as a Greek critic. First or last, the drama was his pecu-
liar province : it was in that he endeavoured to excel, and
in that, we think, he has attained the excellence that will
be most permanent. ^
CUMING, or COMYNS (Sir Alexander), bart. a man
of considerable talents, unhappily, in some respects, mis-
applied, was the son of Alexander Cuming of Coulter,
who was created a baronet in \6D5, and was born probably
about the beginning of the last century. It appears by his
Journal, which was in the possession of the laie Isaac
Reed, esq. that he was bred to the law of Scotland, but
was induced to (|uit that profession in consequence of a
pension of 300/. per annum being assigned him by govern-
ment, either, as he intimates, for services 'done by his
family, or expected from himself This pension was with-
1 Memoirs, &c.
CUMING. 155
drawn in 1721, at the instance, according to his account,
of sir Robert Walpole, who liad conceived a pique against
his father, for opposing him in parliament. It is moro
probable, liowever, that he was found too visionary a
schemer to fnlfil what was expected from him. In 1729
he was induced, by a dream of lady Cuming's, to under-
take a voyage to America, for the purpose of visiting the
Cherokee nations. He left England on Sept. 13, and ar-
rived at Charlestown Dec. 5. On March 1 I following, he
set out for the Indians country; and on April 3, 1730, he
was crowned commander, and chief ruler of the Cherokee
nations in a general meeting of chiefs at Nequisee among
the mountains ; he returned to Charlestown April 13, with
six Indian chiefs, and on June 5, arrived at Dover. On
the 18th he presented the chiefs to George II. at Windsor,
where he laid his crown at his majesty's feet : the chiefs
also did homage, laying four scalps at the king's feet, to
show that thev were an overmatch for their enemies, and
five eagles' tails as emblems of victory. These circum-
stances are confirmed by the newspapers of that time,
which are full of the proceedings of the Cherokees whilst
in England, and speak of them as brought over by sir
Alexander Cuming. Their portraits were engraved on a
single sheet. Sir Alexander says in his Journal, that whilst
he was in America in 1729, he found such injudicious
notions of liberty prevail, as were inconsistent with any
kind of government, particularly with their dependence on
the British nation. This suggested to him the idea of
establishing banks in each of the provinces dependent on
the British exchequer, and accountable to the British par-
liament, as the only means of securing the dependency of
the colonies. But it was not till 1748 (as it appears) that
he laid his plans before the minister (the right hon. Henry
Pelham) who treated him as a visionary enthusiast, which
his journal indeed most clearly indicates him to have been.
He connected this scheme with the restoration of the Jew^s,
for which he supposed the time appointed to be arrived,
and that he himself was alluded to in various passages of'
Scripture as their deliverer. He was not, like a late en-
thusiast, to conduct them to the Holy Land, but proposed
to take them to the Cherokee mountains : wild as his pro-
jects were, some of the most learned Jews (among whom
was Isaac Netto, formerly grand rabbi of the Portuguese
synagogue) seem to have given him several patient hear-
156 C U M I N G.
ings upon the subject. When the minister refused to hs-
ten to his schemes, he proposed to open a subscription
himself for 500,000/. to estabJish provincial banks in Ame-
rica, and to settle 300,000 Jewish families among the Che-
rokee mountains. From one wild project he proceeded to
aiiotiier; and being already desperately involved in debt,
lie turned his thoughts to alchemy, and began to try expe-
riments on the transmutation of metal. He was supported
principally by the contributions of his friends : till at
length, \n \1(>6, archbishop Seeker appointed him one of
the pensioners in the Charter-house, where he died at a
very advanced age in August 1775, and was buried at East
Barnet, where lady Cumu)g had been buried in 1743. He
appears to have been a man of learning, and to have pos-
sessed talents, which, if they had not been under a wrong
bias, might have been beneficial to himself and useful to
his country. His son, who succeeded him in his title, be-
came dei"anged in his intellects, and died some years ago,
in a state of indigence, in the neighbourhood of Red-lion-
street, Whitechapel. He had been a captsiin in the army :
the title became extinct at his death. ^
CUMING (William), born Sept. 30, 1714, was the
son of Mr. James Cuming, an eminent merchant in Edin-
burgh. After a suitable education in the higli-school of
that city, and under the particular tuition of Mr. Alexander
Muir, formerly professor of philosophy at Aberdeen, he
applied himself to the study of physic four years in the
university of Edinburgh, and became connected with some
of the most eminent students in that science. In 173 5 he
spent nine months at Paris, improving himself in anatomy
and the French language : and he passed some time at
Leyden the following year; but returned immediately
before the death of his father*. In 1738 he quitted Edin-
* An elegant ode, addressed to Iiim wrecked on a rock about two miles east
on his going to France, Aug. 31, 17jj, of the island of North Ronalsha, the
by Mr. S. Boyse, is printed in Nichols's northernmost of the Oi kix-y islands.
Miscellany Poems, vol. VI. p. 342 ; Nov. IS, 1740. Immediately on the
and ill the same volume, p. 3'28, is the ship's striking, Mr. Cuming went off
" Vision of Paiieiice," an allegorical in the barge, accompanied by the sur-
poem, sacred to the memory of Mr. geon, and six of the boldest seamen,
Alexander Cuming, a young gentle- in order to discover what the island
man unfortunately lost in the northern was, but were never more heard of.
ocean, on his return froui China, 1740. Thirty-one of the sailors were saved
He was elder brother of the doctor, out of one hundred, the ship's ooiJiple-
and first supercargo of the Suecia, a ment.
Swedish East India ship, which was
' For this article we arc entirely indebted to Lysons's Environs, vo|, IV.
CUMING. 157
burs^h for London : and while his friends were meditatino-
a settlement for him at Lynne in the room of the late sir
William Browne, his friend Dr, Fothergill found out a
more promising situation at Dorchester -, where he re-
mained to the last, notwithstanding the most pressing in-
vitations from Dr. Fothergill to succeed Dr. Russel in Lon-
don. In the space of a few years after his establishment at
Dorchester, he came to be employed in many, and in pro-
cess of time, with an exception (;f three or four at most, in
all the families of distinction within the county, and fre-
quently in the adjacent ones. At length his chaste man-
ners, his learning, and his probity, as they were more ge-
nerally known, rendered him not only the physician, but
the confidential friend of some of the best families into
which he was introduced. His warm and friendly atten-
tion to the interests of the late Mr. Hutchins, author of
the History of Dorset, in advancing the publication of that
well written and well arranged work, cannot better be ex-
pressed than in the grateful language of its author : " One
of the gentlemen to whom my acknowledgments are emi-
nently due, permitted part of that time which is so bene-
ficially employed to far better purposes, and is so precious
to a gentleman of his extensive practice, to be diverted to
the work in hand ; the publication of which he patronised
and promoted with great zeal and assiduity : nor did his
success fall short of his zeal. Without his friendly assist-
ance my papers might yet have remained undelivered to
the press; or, if they had beencommitted to the public, would
have wanted several advantages and embellishments with
which they now appear." The doctor bequeathed his inter-
leaved copy of this work to Mr.Gough, his friend and coadj utor
in its publication. In 1752 he received a diploma from the
university of Edinburgh ; and was soon after elected a fel-
low of the royal college of physicians there, of which he
died senior fellow. He was elected in 1769 fellow of the
society of antiquaries of London; and in 1781 of that of
Scotland. The tenderness of his eyes was, through life,
the greatest misfortune he had to struggle with ; and, <:on-
sidering the many obstacles which the complaints in those
organs have occasioned in the pursuit of knowledge, it is
wonderful how he attained the degree of erudition which
he was well known to possess. In his retreat from the
more busy pursuits of this world, the surviving companions
®f his youth continued the friends and correspondents of
15S C U M I N G.
his advanced years ; and he enjoyed to the last the singu-
lar satisfaction of being visited by the most respectable
persons in the county for probity, rank, and fortune. We
cannot but regret that the doctor, wlio has been the means
of so many valuable performances being laid before the
public, and some of them improved by his pen, had not
himself stood forth, to give that information for which he
was so well qualified, both in point of classical learning
and elegant composition. He died of a dropsy, in the 74th
year of his age, March 25, 1788.'
CUNi^US (Peter), a very learned lawyer, and profes-
sor in the university of Leyden, was born at Flushing, in
Zealand, 1586. He was sent to Leyden at the age of
fourteen, where he made great progress in the Greek,
Latin, Hebrew, Chaldaic, and Syriac languages, under
Drusius ; and, with his assistance, gained a deep know-
ledge in the Jewish antiquities. In the early part of his
life he was in England, whither he had attended Ambrose'
Regemortes, his kinsman ; and during his stay here, he,
in one summer, accurately read over Homer, and most of
the Greek poets. It appears that he was at first designed
for divinity, by his maintaining theological theses under
Arminius in 1605; but religious disputes running high at
that time, he conceived a disgust to it, and applied him-
self to the belles lettres and the law. He was created
LL. D. at Leyden in 161 !, at which time he was chosen
professor of eloquence. He was afterwards made professor
of politics; and in 1615 of civil law, which employment
he held to his death, which happened in 1638. He was
the author of several ingenious and learned works ; and his
little book, " De republica Hebra;orum," which is still held
in high esteem, was made a text-book by the most cele-
brated professors. Nicolai, Goree, and Basnage have all
published editions of it with notes and comments. His
" Satyra Menippaca in sui sajculi homines inepte eruditos"
was printed at Leyden in 1632, and as much admired for
its wit as learning. He likewise published remarks upon
1 From Memoirs of his Life, at the end of ihr fourth idition of Dr. Lettsom'.<
Life of Dr. FoUiergill, 1786, 8vo. The Slierboin Mercury of March 31 records
his death, with this honourable testimony : " He was a physician of learning-,
strict integrity, and great humanity : possessed of a liappy turn for inquiry and
observation ; devoted from an early age to the faitlilul disdiarge of the duties of
his profession. The death of this fxcelicnt man is a mi>fortunc to his friends
and neighbours more immediately, to the faculty in general, and to all man-
kind."
C U N ^ U S. 159
Nonius's " Dionysiaca," and some inauguration and other
speeches; with a translation of JuHan's Ciesars. He was
a man of great parts and learning; and we find Vossius,
Casaubon, and other great men, speaking of him in the
highest terms of applause, and paying the profoundest de-
ference to his judgment. Scahger says, that he was ex-
tremely learned, but of a melancholy humuur. Burman
published a volume of his " Epistolae," which contain lite-
rary information and remarks, Leyden, 1725, 8vo. '
CUNITIA, orCUNlTZ (Maria), a lady of great ge-
nius and learning, was born in Silesia about the beginning
of the seventeenth century, and became celebrated for her
extensive knowledge in many branches of learning, parti-
cularly in mathematics and astronomy, upon which she
wrote several ingenious treatises; one of which, under the
title of *' Urania Propitia," printed in 1650, in Latin and
German, she dedicated to Ferdinand III. emperor of Ger-
many. In this work are contained astronomical tables, of
great ease and accuracy, founded upon Kepler's hypothe-
sis. She learned languages with amazing facility ; and
understood Polish, German, French, Italian, Latin, Greek,
and Hebrew. With equal ease she acquired a knowledge
of the sciences: history, physic, poetry, painting, music
both vocal and instrumental, were familiar to her; and yet
these were no more than her amusement. Her favourite
study was the mathematics, and especially astronomy, to
which she principally applied, and was not without reason
ranked among the most able astronomers of her time. She
married Elias de Lewin, M. D. also an astronomer; and
they carried on their favourite studies for some time with
equal reputation and success, until the war penetrated into
Silesia, and obliged them to quit their residence at
Schweinitz, for Poland, which was then at peace. Upon
their journey, although furnished with the best passports,
they were robbed by the soldiers ; but, on their arrival in
Poland, were welcomed with every kind attention. Hers
she composed her astronomical tables above noticed, first
printed at Oels, and four years after at Franeker or Franc-
fort. Moreri fixes her death at 1664, but others think she
was living in 1669, and then a widow. ^
' Moreri. — Life prefixed to Basnage's " Antiquitez Judaiqnes," Amst. 1713. —
Freheri Theatrum. — iilouiU's Censura. — Foppen Bib!. Belg. — Saxii Onomast.
^ 13ibl. Germanique, vol. Ill, — Moreri, — M.utia's Lives of the Philosophers.
160 CUNNINGHAM.
CUNNINGHAM (Alexander), an historian, was born
in Scotland, in the time of Cromwell's usnrpation, in I 6.5 -4-;
his father was minister at Ettrick, in the shire and presby-
tery of Selkirk. He was educated, according to the cus-
tom of the Scotch sentlemen of those times who were of
the presbyterian sect, in Holland, where we may suppose
he imbibed his principles of government, and was much
with the Scotch and English refugees at the Hague before
the revolution, particularly with the earls of Argyle and
Sunderland. He came over to England with the prince of
Orange ; and was honoured with the confidence and inti-
macy of many leading men among the friends of king
William and the revolution. We find him employed, at
different times, in the character of a travelling companion
or tutor ; first to the earl of Hyndford and his brother Mr,
William Carmichael, solicitor-general in the reign of queen
Anne for Scotland ; secondly, with the lord Lome, after-
wards so well known under the name of John duke of
Argyle; and thirdly, with the lord viscount Lonsdale. In
1703 we find him at Hanover with the celebrated Addi-
son, and graciously received by the elector and princess
Sophia.
Lord Lome, at the time he was under the tuition of Mr.
Cunningham, was colonel of a regiment, which the father
of the earl of Argyle had raised for his majesty's service in
Flanders. Mr. Cunningham's connection with the duke of
Argyle, with whom he had the honour of maintaining an
intimacy as long as he lived, together with the opportuni-
ties he enjoyed of learning in his^ travels what may be called
military geography, naturally tended to qualify him for
writing intelligibly on military affairs. On this subject
Achilles, it is probable, communicated information to his
preceptor Chiron. When we reflect on these circumstan-
ces, we shall the less wonder that his accounts of battles
and sieges, and in general of all the operations of war,
should he so copious, and at the same time so conceivable
and satisfactory. It is not minatural on this occasion to
call to mind, that the historian Polybins, so justly re-
nowned for his knowledge of both civil and military affairs,
was tutor to Scipio Africanus.
Mr. Cunningham, both when he travelled with the noble-
men abovementioned, and on other occasions, was em-
ployed by the English ministry in transmitting secret in-
lelligence to them on the most important subjects. He
CUNNINGHAM. 161
was also on sundry occasions employed by the generals of
the confederate armies to carry intelligence and to make
representations to the court of Britain, In Carstares*
State papers, published by Dr. Macormick, principal of
the united college of St. Andrew's, in 1774, there are two
letters from our author, dated Paris the 2 2d and 26th of
August 1701, giving an account of his conferences with
the marquis de Torcy, the French minister, relative to the
Scotch trade with France. This commercial negotiation,
from the tenor of Cunningham's letters compared with his
history, appears to have been only the ostensible object of
his attention : for he sent an exact account to king Wil-
liam, with whom he was personally acquainted, of the mi-
litary preparations throughout all France.
Mr. Cunningham's political friends, Argyle, Sunder-
land, sir Robert Walpole, &c. on the accession of
George I. sent him as British envoy to the republic of
Venice, where he resided from 1715 to 1720. His cor-
respondence, or at least part of it (for secretary Craggs
carried away his official correspondence from the public
office, and probably, among others, some of Mr. Cun-?
ningham's letters), with the secretaries of state is preserved,
in the paper-office. His dispatches have been collected
and arranged by Mr. Astle, who very obligingly commu-
nicated this information to the author of the critical and
biographical memoirs prefixed to the translation of the
Latin manuscript.
A question has, no doubt, been anticipated by the reader
of these memorials of Mr. Cunningham, whether he was not
the celebrated critic on Horace, and the author of the post-
humous criticisms in an edition of Virgil published by Ha-
milton and Balfour of Edinburgh in 1742. On this ques-
tion, which is, no doubt, not a little interesting to philo-
logists, but not perhaps so interesting as it would have
been 50 or 60 years ago, his editor Dr. Thomson has ex-
hausted not a little reading, inquiry, and probable con-
jecture, and bestows perhaps more consideration on it than
the importance of the question deserves. It must be owned,
at the same time, that the circumstances tending to prove
the identity of the critic and the historian, and those tend-
ing to prove their diversity, are so many, and the evidence
for and against each so nicely balanced, that it becomes a
question of infinite curiosity on this account, and of im-
portance too as illustrating the uncertainty of both direct
Vol. XI. M
162 CUNNINGHAM.
and circumstantial evidence. — The historian Alexander
Cunningham was born in Scotland in the time of Cromwell's
usurpation ; was educated in Holland, where he was inti-
mately acq'aainted with many of the Scotch and English
refugees at the Hague, and particularly with the earls of
Argyle and Sunderland : he enjoyed, in an eminent de-
gree, the favour and familiarit}' of the great : he travelled
with the duke of Argyle : he was distinguished by his skill
in the game of chess : he was in politics a whig ; and he
lived to extreme old age. Now there is very strong evi-
dence that all these circumstances belong to the life,
imd point to Alexander Cunningham, the editor and com-
ftientator of Horace. It would seem strange indeed, if
two Alexander Cunninghams, countrymen, contemporaries,
so distinguished for erudition and the familiarity and favour
of men of rank and power, and the same men too, should
have flourished at the same sera, in modes of life, in places
of residence, in peculiarities of character, and other cir-
cumstances so nearly parallel. And yet, notwithstanding
these accumulated coincidences, there are circumstances
too of diversity and opposition that seem incompatible with
their identity ; and therefore Dr. Thomson, after all his
inquiries concerning the identity or the diversity of the
historian and the critic, on that subject remains sceptical ;
and from those curious points of coincidence and opposi-
tion draws the following pertinent inference : " If the
writings of our author have increased the stores of history,
the incidents of his life, by shewing the uncertainty of
oral tradition, have illustrated its importance."
He lived many years after his return from Venice, which
he seems chiefly to have passed in a studious retirement.
In 1735 he was visited in London by lord Hyndford, at the
Instance of his lordship's father, to whom he had been
tutor; when he appeared to be very old. It is probable
that he lived about two years after; for the body of an
Alexander Cunningham lies interred in the vicar chancel of
St. Martin's church, who died in the 83d year of his age,
on the 15th day of May 1737 ; and who was probably the
same person.
His History of Great Britain, from the revolution in
1688 to the accession of George I. was published in
two vols. 4to, in 1787. It was written by Mr. Cunning-
ham in Latin, but was translated into English by the rev.
'I>r. William- Thomson. The original manuscript came
into the possession of the rev. Dr. Hollingberry, archdea-
CUNNINGHAM. 163
con of Chichester, soine of whose relations had been con-
nected with the author. He communicated it to the late
earl of Hardwicke, and to Dr. Douglas, the late bishop of
Salisbury, both of whom recommended the publication.
In a short preface to the work, the archdeacon says: " My
first design was to have produced it in the original ; but,
knowing how few are sufficiently learned to understand,
and how many are indisposed to read two quarto volumes in
Latin, however interesting and entertaining the subject
may be, I altered my purpose, and intended to have sent
it into the world in a translation. A nervous fever de-
priving me of the power, defeated the scheme." Accord-
ingly, he afterwards transferred the undertaking to Dr.
Thomson ; and, we are told by Dr. Holiingberry that this
gentlemfin " has expressed the sense of the author with
fidelity." The work was undoubtedly well deserving ot
publication. It contains the history of a very interesting
period, written by a man who had a considerable degree
of authentic information, and his book contains many cu-
rious particulars not to be found in other histories. His
characters are often drawn with judgment and impartiality :
at other times they are somewhat tinctured with prejudice.
This is particularly the case with respect to general Stan-
hope and bishop Burnet, against whom he appears to have
conceived a stroiig personal dislike. He sometimes also
indulges himself in severe sarcasms on the clergy, and on
the female sex. But he was manifestly a very attentive
observer of the transactions of his own time ; his works
abound in just political remarks; and the facts which he
relates are exhibited with great perspicuity, and often
with much animation. Throughout his book he frequently
intersperses some account of the literature and of the most
eminent persons of the age concerning which he writes ;
and he has also adorned his work with many allusions to
the classics and to ancient history
The compilers of the EncyclopcBTjia Britannica thus con-
clude their article on this subject; " Alexander Cunning-
ham, the author of the History of Great Britain, has been
supposed to be the same person with Alexander Cunning-
ham who published an edition of Horace at the Hague, in
2 vols. 8vo. 1721, which is hiiihly esteemed. But, from
the best information we have been able to collect, they
were certainly different persons ; though they were both
of the same name, lived at the same time, had boik^ been
M 2
164 CUNNINGHAM.
travelling tutors, were both said to have been eminent for
their skill at the game of chess, and both lived to a very
advanced age. The editor of Horace is generally said to
have died in Holland, where he taught both the civil and
canon laws, and where he had collected a very large library,
which was sold in that country." That these remarks are
just has been since placed beyond a doubt by a writer,
under the signature of Crito, in the Scots Magazine for
October 1804, who proves that the editor of Horace died
at the Hague in 1730, and the historian at London in
1737.'
CUNNINGHAM (John), a poet of considerable repu-
tation, was born in 1729 in Dublin, where his father and.
mother, both descendants of Scotch parents, then resided.
His father was a wine cooper, and becoming enriched by a'
prize in the lottery, commenced wine-merchant, and
failed. The little education our author received was from
a Mr. Clark, who was master of the grammar-school of the
city of Drogheda ; and when his father's affairs became
embarrassed, he was recalled to Dublin, where he pro-
duced many of his lesser poems at a very early age. At
seventeen he wrote a farce, entitled " Love in a Mist,**
which was acted for several nif^hts at Dublin in 1747. Gar-
rick is said to have been indebted to this farce for the fable
or plot of his *' Lying Valet." The success of his little
drama procured him the freedom of the theatre, to which
he became immoderately attached, and mistaking inclina-
tion for ability, commenced actor without one essential
qualification either natural or acquired, if we except a
knack at personating the mock French character, in which
he is said to have been tolerable. His passion for the
stage, however, predominated so strongly, that without
any intimation of his intentions, he left his family and
embarked for England, where he obtained a precarious
and unprofitable employment in various companies of
strolling comedians. Frequent want made him at length
sensible of his imprudence, but pride prevented his return
to his friends; and the death of his father in circumstances
of distress, probably reconciled him to a way of life which
he could not now exchange for a better. About the year
1761 we find him a performer at Edinburgh, where he
published his " Elegy on a Pile of Ruins," which, although
' Biog. Brit. — Tytler'g Life of Lord Kanie3.-»-EncycIop3Edia Britannica.
CUNNINGHA M. 165
obviously an imitation of Gray's Elegy, contains many
passages conceived in the true spirit of poetry, and ob-
tained considerable reputation. During liis theatrical en-
gagement at Edinburgh, although insignificant as an actor,
he was of some value to the manager, by furnishing pro-
logues and other occasional addresses, which were much
applauded-
About this time he received an invitation from certain
booksellers in London, who proposed to engage him in
such works of literature as might procure him a more easy
and honourable employment than he had hitherto followed.
He repaired accordingly to the metropolis, but was disap-
. pointed in the promised undertaking by the bankruptcy of
the principal person concerned in it, and after a short
. sta}', was glad to return to his friends in the north. This
was the only effort he ever made to emerge from the ab-
ject situation in which youthful imprudence had originally
placed him, and contented indolence possessed him so en-
tirely, that he never made a second attempt. In a letter
to a friend he describes himself in these terms : " You may.
remember ray last expedition to London. I think I may
be convinced by it, that I am not calculated for the busi-
ness you mention. Though I scribble (but a little neither)
to amuse myself, the moment I considered it as my duty, it
would cease to be an amusement, and I should of conse-
quence be weary on't. I am not enterprizing ; and tole-
ably happy in my present situation."
In 1762 he published "The Contemplatist," but with
less success than his Elegy. This is indeed the worst of
all his productions, and was censured with much force of
ridicule by a writer in the Monthly Review. It abounds
with glittering and absurd conceits, and had it been pub-
lished now, might have been mistaken for a satire on the
maukish, namby-pamby stuff which the author of the
Baviad and Maiviad has chastised with equal justice and
humour. It may here be mentioned that in 1765 he pub-
lished " Fortune, an Apologue," in which there are some
poetical beauties, particularly the description of avarice,
but not much consistency of plan ; and in the following
year collected his poems into a volume, which was ho-
noured by a numerous list of subscribers.
For some time, he was a performer in Mr. Digges's
company at Edinburgh, and on that gentleman's quitting
Scotland, returned to Newcastle-upon-Tyne, a spot which
1(56 CUNNINGHAM.
had been his residence for many years, and which he con'«
sidered as his home. Here aiid in the neighbouring towns
he earned a scanty subsistence. Although his mode of life
was not of the reputable kind, his blameless and obliging
conduct procured him many friends, and in their society
hte passed his days without any effort to improve his situa-
tion. Yet in the verses he wrote about three weeks before
he died, it appears that he was not quite so contented as
his biographer has represented. A few months before that
event, being incapable of any theatrical exertion, he was re-
moved to the house of his friend, Mr. Slack of Newcastle,
who with great kindness received him under his roof, and
paid every attention to him which his state required. After
lino-erinjr some time under a nervous disorder, during:
xvhich he burnt all his papers, he died on the 18th of Sep-
tember, 1773, and was buried in St. John's church-yard,
Newcastle.
Although Cunningham cannot be admitted to a very
high rank among poets, he may be allowed to possess a
considerable share of genius. His poems have a peculiar
svveetness and elegance ; his sentiments are generally na-
tural, and his language simple, and appropriate to his sub-
ject, except in some of his longer pieces, where he accu-
mulates epithets that appear to be laboured, and are some-
times uncouth compounds, either obsolete or unauthorized.
As he contemplated nature with a fond and minute atten-
tion, and had familiarized his mind to rural scenes and
images, his pastorals will probably continue to be his most
favoured efforts. He has in formed us that Shenstone, with
whose correspondence he was honoured, encouraged him
to cultivate this species of poetry. His "Landscape" is a
cluster of beauties which every reader must feel, but such as
only a very accurate observer of nature could have grouped
with equal effect. His fables are ingenious, and his lyric
pieces were at one time in very high estimation, and cer-
tamly cannot suffer by a comparison with their successors
on the stage and public gardens ; and, upon the whole,
his works have lost little of the popularity with which they
T^ere origitially favoured. ' -''
CUNINGHAM (William), was a physician in Lon-
don, who resided in Coleman-street some years of his life.
I Johnson <ind Chalmers's English Poets, IS}0. — The first account of Cua^
nin;^baat appeared in the Lond. Mag. 1773, p. 493.
C U N I N G H A M. 1^7
About 1556 — 1559 he lived at Norwich, and in 1563 he
was a public lecturer in surgeons'-hall, London. Bishop
Bull applauded him much for his knowledge in astronomy
and physic. lie was certainly a man of considerable
learning, and much admired for his ingenuity in the art
of engraving on copper. In 1559 he published his '* Cosr
mographical Glass, conteyning the pleasant principles of
Cosmographie, Geographic, Hydrographie, or Naviga-
tion," fol. He executed several of the cuts in this book
himself. The map of Norwich, Mr. Granger thinks, i$
curious and fine. He wrote also a Commentary on Hip-
pocrates, " De Aere, Aquis et Regionibus," and a " Trea-
tise on the French Disease." '
CUPER, orCUPERUS (Gisbeut), a learned philologist,
was born Sept. 14, 1614, at Hemmem, in the duchy of
Guelderland, and educated first at home, and then at
Nimegueu, where after attending a course of rhetoric,
philosophy', mathematics, history, law, and theology, he
found his inclination drawing him more closely to matters
of taste and polite literature. With a view to further im-
l^rovement in these branches, he went to Leyden, and put
himself for some time under the direction of the elder
Gronovius. He came afterwards to Paris, and while he
was about to leave that city for Italy, he was appointed
professor of history at Deventer, when he was only in his
•wen ty- fifth year. The reputation he acquired in this
office, raised him to the magistracy, and he was employed
by the states of Overyssel in various important transactions.
Having carried on a correspondence with some distinguished
members of the French academy of inscriptions, he was
chosen an honorary member. He died at Deventer,
Nov. 22, 1716, in the seventy-third year of his age. His
works are: 1. " Observationum Libri III." on different
Greek and Latin authors," Utrecht, 1670, 8vo. 2. " Har-
pocrates, et Monumenta antiqua inedita," Utrecht, 1676,
li87, and 1694, 4to. 3. An additional book or volume of
observations on the Greek and Latin authors, Deventer,
1678, 8vo. 4. " Apotheosis, vei consecratio Homeri,"
Amst. 1683, 4to. 5. *' Historia trium Gordianum," De-
venter, 1697, 12mo; and ibid. 1697, 8vo. 6. " Lettres
de critique, d'histoire, de iitterature, &c." Amst. 1742,
4to. He also wrote a preface and notes to the edition of
' Tanner.— Granger.— Aikin's Biog. Memoirs of Medicine.
168 C U P E R.
Lactantius " de movtibus persecutorum," Abo, 1684, and
Utrecht, 1692. His correspondence with the literary men
of his age was very extensive, and many of his letters
have been published in various collections ; particularly in
** Celeberrimorum virorum epistolae," Wittemberg, 1716,
8vo, in " Schelhornii Amcenitates," Leipsic, 1738, 8vo ;
in Burman's Sylloge;" in the " Sylloge nova Epistolarum,"
Nuremberg, 1759, 8vo ; and lastly, by Betou, in his work
*' De Aris et Lapidibus Votivis ad Neomagum et Sanctenum
effosis," Neomag. 1783, 8vo.*
• CURCELLEUS. See COURCELLES.
CURIO (CcELius Secundus), of Pi6mont, was born at
San Chirico, in 1503, of a noble family, and cultivated
philosophy, and made several journies in Germany and
Italy. Having abjured the religion of Rome to embrace
the doctrines of Luther, he was thrown into prison, and
confined for several months, but without this making any
impression on his sentiments; and he was no sooner re-
leased than he played a very bold trick. Having access to
the relics of the monastery of St. Benigno, he executed
the plan of carrying away the holy shrine, and leaving in
its place what to Ijim was more holy and estimable, the
Bible, inscribed with these words, " Haec est area foe-
deris, ex qua vera sciscitari oracula liceat, et in qua veroe
sunt sanctorum reliquiae." As, however, he was aware
the fury of the populace would not permit him to escape
with his life, if he were suspected, he thought it prudent to
retire, and we find him afterwards at Milan, where he
married in 1530, and began to preach. Having fixed his
abode near Casal, he one day heard a Dominican de-
claiming loudly against Luther, and charging him with
criminal acts and heretical notions, of which he was not
guilty; he asked permission to give an answer to the out-
rageous preacher. This being granted : " My father,"
said he to the monk, " you have attributed to Luther a
nimiber of terrible declarations; but where does he say
them ? Can you point me out the book where he has de-
livered such a doctrine ?" — The monk replied that he could
not immediately shew him the passage ; but that, if he
would go with him to Turin, he would point it out to
him. — " And I," said Curio, " will shew you this moment
that what you advance cannot be true." Then pulling out
1 Moreri.r— Saxii Onomasticon.
CURIO. 169
of his pocket Luther's Commentary on the epistle to the
Galatians, he refuted the Dominican with so much strensrth
of argument, that the crowd fell upon him, and it was
with great difficulty that he escaped out of their hands.
The inquisition and the bishop of Turin being informed of
this quarrel, Curio was arrested ; but the bishop, perceiving
that he was supported by a considerable party, went to
Rome, to receive advice from the pope in what maimer he
should proceed. In the mean time, Curio was carried in
irons to a private prison, and kept under a constant guard ;
but, notwithstanding these precautions, found means to
escape during the night. He fled to Salo, in the duchy
of Milan, and from thence to Pavia ; whence, three years
afterwards, he was obliged to take refuge at Venice, be-
cause the pope had threatened to excommunicate the se-
nate of Pavia, if they did not put him under an arrest.
From Venice Curio went successively to Ferrara, to Lucca,
to Lausanne, in Switzerland, where he was made principal
of the college, and lastly to Bale, in 1547. Here he be-
came professor of eloquence and the belles-lettres, which
situation he held until his death, which happened in 1569,
at the age of sixty-seven. There is a singular work by
him, entitled *' De amplitudine beati regni Dei," Bale,
1550, 8vo, in which he extends that kingdom to the com-
prehension of a far greater number of elect than the ge-
nerality of divines allow. He also wrote : 1. " Opus-
cula," Bale, 1544, 8vo, scarce, and containing a disser-
tation on Providence, another on the Immortality of the
Soul, &c. 2. " Letters," Bale, 1553, 8vo. 3. " Cal-
vinus Judaisans," 1595, Svo. 4. To him are attributed :
" PasquiUorum tomi duo," 1544, 2 parts in 1 vol. Svo.
What has led -the critics to think him the editor of this
collection, is, that he is indeed the author of the two edi-
tions of " Pasquillus extaticus," 8vo, the one without
date, the other of Geneva, 1544. The second was re-
printed with " Pasquillus theologaster," Geneva, 1C67,
12mo. TlkCse are satires, which petulance on one side,
and the desire of suppressing them on the other, have oc-
casioned to be sought after. The book-collectors add to
these, two volumes, the works of a certain German, named
" Pasquillus merus." This makes a third volume, which
has scarcely any relation to the former, nor is either of
much value. 5. A Latin translation of Guicciardini's his^
tory, 1566, 2 vols. fol. 6. <' De Bello Melitense, anng
170 CURIO.
1565," 8vo, inserted in Muratori. 7. " Vita et doctrina
Davidis Georgii haeresiarchac," Bale, 1599, 4to. 8. " Fo-
rurn Romanum," a Latin dictionary, Bale, 1576, 3 vols.
fol. 9. " Historia Francisci Spirse," 8vo, &c. Of a very-
scarce work of his, *' Paraphrasis in principium Evangelii
S. Johannis," but which, if we mistake not, was originally
published among his " Opuscula," an extract may be seen
in the " New Memoirs of Literature," vol, XIIL'
CUROPALATES. See SCYLITZES.
CURRIE (James), M. D. an eminent physician of Li-
verpool, was born at Kirkpatrick-Flemming, in Dumfries-
shire, on May 31st, 1756, where his father was the es-
tablished minister, but afterwards removed to that of
Middlebie. He received the rudiments of learning at the
parish school of his native place, whence be was removed
to the grammar-school of Dumfries. His original desti-
nation was for a commercial life, and he passed some years
of his youth in Virginia, in a mercantile station. Disliking
this profession, and unwilling to be a witness of the im-
pending troubles in the American colonies, he quitted that
country in 1776, and in the following year commenced a
course of naedical study at the university of Edinburgh,
which occupied him almost without interruption for three
years. A prospect of an appointment in the medical staff
of the army, which would not admit of the usual delay of
an Edinburgh graduation, induced him to take the degree
of doctor of pb«ysic at Glasgow. He arrived, however, in
London, too late for the expected place ; but still deter-
mining to go abroad, he had taken his pas-^age in a ship
for Jamaica, when a severe indisposition prevented his
sailing, and entirely changed his lot in life. He renounced
his first intention ; and, after some consideration respecting
an eligible settlement, he fixed upon the commercial and
rapidly-increasing town of Liverpool, which became his
residence from 1781, and where he soon rose into general
•steem. Indeed, it was not possible, even upon a casual
acquaintance, for a judge of mankind to fail of being struck
by his manly urbanity of behaviour, by the elegance and
variety of his conversation, by the solid sense and sagacity
of his remarks, and by the tokens of a feeling heart, which
graced and dignified the qualities of his understanding.
No man was ever more highly regarded by his friends ; no
> Niceron. — Frehcri Theainnn. — Moreri. — Saxii Onomast. But fer his publi-
cations, Clement liibl. Curieuse.
C U R R I E» 17t
pliysician ever inspired more confidence and attachment ia
his patients.
In 1783, Dr. Currie made a very desirable matrimonial
connection with Lucy, the daughter of William Wallace,
esq. an Irish merchant in Liverpool. Of this marriage, a
numerous and amiable family was the fruit, by which his
name promises to be worthily perpetuated. His profes-
sional employment rapidly increased ; he was elected one
of the physicians of the infirmary, and took his station
among the distinguished characters of the place of his re-
sidence.
His first appearance from the press was on occasion of
the lamented death of his intimate friend Dr. Bell, a
young physician of great hopes, settled at Manchester.
His elegant and interesting tribute to the memory of
this person was published in 1785, in the first volume
of the Transactions of the Manchester Philosophical
and Literary Society, of which they were both members.
He was elected a member of the London Medical Society
in 1790, and communicated to it a paper " On Te-
tanus and Convulsive Disorders," published in the third
volume of its memoirs. In 1792 he became a fellow of
the Royal Society. A very curious and instructive " Ac-*
count of the remarkable effects of a shipwreck," commu-
nicated by him to that body, was published in the Philo-
sophical Transactions of that year. Soon after this, having
with many other men of political study, viewed the war with
France consequent to its great revolutionary struggle with
disapprobation, with respect as well to its principles, as to
its probable effect on the happiness of both countries, he
wrote a pamphlet. This appeared in 1793, under the title
of " A Letter Commercial and Political, addressed to the
right hon. William Pitt; by Jasper Wilson, esq.;" it soon
attained a second edition, and various answers attested the
degree of importance attached to it in the public estima-
tion. In the mean time, he was far from being neglectful
of the duties of his profession. To those who employed
him he was abundantly known as a skilful and sedulous
practitioner ; and the medical papers he had already pub-
lished gave him reputation among his brethren. This re-
putation was widely extended and raised to an eminent,
degree by a publication which first appeared in October
1797, entitled " Medical Reports on the Efltects of Water
Cold and Warm, as a Remedy in Febrde Diseases ; with
observations on the nature of Fever, and on the effects of
172 C U R R I E.
opium, alcohol, and inanition." The practice of affusion
of cold water in fevers, which is the leading topic in this
work, was suggested to the author by Dr. Wright's narra-
tive, in the London Medical Journal, of his successful
treatment of a fever in a homeward-bound ship from Ja-
maica. Dr. Currie copied and greatly extended it, and
investigated the principles by which its use should be di-
rected and regulated. He discovered that the safety and
advantage of the application of cold was proportionate to
the existing augmentation of the animal heat ; and he found
the thermometer a very valuable instrument to direct the
practitioner's judgment in febrile cases. He may there-
fore be considered as the principal author of a practice
■which has already been attended with extraordinary suc-
cess in numerous instances, and bids fair to prove one of
the greatest medical improvements in modern times. The
work, which contained many ingenious speculations and
valuable observations, was generally read and admired. A
new volume was added to it in 1804, consisting of much
interesting matter on different topics, especially in con-
firmation of the doctrine and practice of the former volume
respecting cold affusion. The free and successful employ-
ment of this remedy in the scarlatina, was one of its most
important articles. The author had the satisfaction of re-
ceiving numerous acknowledgments of the benefit derived
from his instructions, both in private and in naval and mi-
litary practice. He himself was so much convinced of the
utility of the methods he reconm:iended, that a revision of
the whole work for a new edition, was one of the latest la-
bours of his life.
Dr. Currie might now, without danger to his profes-
sional character, indulge his inclination for the ornauiental
parts of literature ; and an occasion offered in which he
had the happiness of rendering his taste and his benevo-
lence equally conspicuous. On a visit to his native county,
in 1792, he hiKJ become personally acquainted with that
rustic son of genius, Robert Burns. "^I'his extraordinary,
hut unfortunate man, having at his death Left his family in
great indigence, a subscription was made in Scotland for
their immediate relief, and at the same time a design was
formed, of publishing an edition of his printed works and
remains for their emolument. Mr. Syme, of Ryedale, ;m
old and intimate friend of Dr. Currie, strongly urged him
to undertake the office of editor ; and to this request, in
which other friends of the poet's memory concurred, he
C U R R I E. 173
could not withhold his acquiescence, notwithstanding ViLs
multiplied engagements, lu 1800 he published in 4 vols.
8vo, *' The Works of Robert Burns, with an account of
his Life, and a criticism on his Writings : to which are
prefixed, some Observations on the Character and Con-
dition of the Scottish Peasantry." These volumes were a
rich treat to the lovers of poetry and elegant literature ;
and Dr. Currie's part in them, as a biographer and critic,
was greatly admired, as well for beauty of style, as for li-
berality of sentiment and sagacity of remark. If any ob-
jection was made to him as an editor, on account of unne-
cessary extension of the materials, the kind purpose for
which the publication was undertaken, pleaded his excuse
with all who were capable of feeling its force. Its success
fully equalled the most sanguine expectations.
Though externally of a vigorous frame of bod}', Dr.
Currie had a pre-disposition to those complaints which
usually shorten life; and in 1784 he had experienced a
pulmonary attack of an alarming nature, from which he
was extraordinarily recovered by the use of horse-exercise,
^s related by himself in his case, inserted in the second
volume of Dr. Darwin's " Zoonomia." He was, however,
seldom long free from threatenings of a return, and his
health began visibly to decline in the early part of 1804.
In the summer of that year he took a journey to Scotland,
wiiere, among other sources of gratification, he had that
of witnessing- the happy effects of his kindness on the fa-
mily of Burns. His letters on this occasion were delight-
ful displays of benevolence rejoicing in its work. He re-
turned with some temporary amendment; but alarming
symptoms soon returned, and in November he found it ne-
cessary to quit the climate and business of Liverpool. He
spent the winter alternately at Clifton and Bath ; and in
the month of March appeared to himself in a state of con-
valescence, which justified his taking a house in Bath, and
commencing the practice of his profession. From the
manner in which his career opened, there could be no doubt
that it would have proved eminently successful ; but the
concluding scene was hastily approaching. As a last re-
source, he went in August to Sidmouth, where, after much
suffering, which he bore with manly fortitude and pious
resignation, he expired on August 31st, 1805, in the
fiftieth year of his age. His disease was ascertained to be
a great enlargement and flaccidity of the heart, accompa-
174 C U R R I E.
Tiied with remarkable wasting of the left lung, but without
ulceration, tubercle, or abscess.
Few men have left the world with a more amiable and
estimable character, proved in every relation of life, public
and domestic. In his professional conduct he was upright,
liberal, and honourable ; with much sensibility for his pa-
tients, without the affectation of it ; fair and candid towards
his brethren of the faculty ; and though usually decided
in his opinion, yet entirely free from arrogance or dog-
matism. His behaviour was singularly calculated to con-
vert rivals into friends ; and some of those who regarded
him with the greatest esteem and affection, have been the
persons who divided practice with him. His powers of
mind were of the highest rank, equally fitted for action
and speculation ; his morals were pure, his principles
exalted. His life, though much too short to satisfy the
■wishes of his friends and family, was long enough for signal
usefulness and for lasting fame.'
CURTIS (William), an eminent botanist, was born at
Alton, in Hampshire, in 1746. At the age of fourteen he
was bound apprentice to his grandfather, an apothecary at
Alton, and appears to have first acquired a particular taste
for botany, from an acquaintance in humble life, the ostler
of an adjoining inn, who had studied some of the popular
Herbals. Some more systematic works falling in his way
soon after, instilled into his apt and ardent mind, principles
of method, and of Linnajan philosophy, which neither his
original preceptor, nor the books he studied, could ever
have taught. At the age of twenty, Mr. Curtis came to
London, in order to finish his medical education, and to
seek an establishment in the profession to which he was
destined. He was associated with a Mr. Talwin of Grace-
church-street, to whose business he at lenoth succeeded :
but not without having from time to time received many
reproofs and warnings, respecting the interference of his
botanical pursuits with the more obviously advantageous
ones of his profession. Nor were these warnings without
cause. The street-walking duties of a city practitioner
but ill accorded with the wild excursions of a naturalist;
the apothecary was soon swallowed up in the botanist, and
the shop exchanged for a garden. Mr. Curtis, therefore,
became a lecturer on the principles of natural science, and
* From a Sketch drawn up by Dr. Aikin, inserted ia the literary journals.
CURTIS. !75
a demonstrator of practical botany. His pupils frequented
his garden, studied in liis library, and followed him into
the fields in his herborizincr excursions. His first garden
was situated at Bermondsey ; afterwards he occupied a
more extensive one at Lambeth Marsh, which he finally
exchanged for a more salubrious and commodious spot at
Brompton. This last garden he continued to cultivate till
his death.
Mr. Curtis was very early led to combine the study of
insects and their metamorphoses with that of plants, and
his various gardens were furnished with accommodations
tor this pursuit. Hence he became an author ; his first
publication being a pamphlet, entitled " Instructions for
collecting and preserving Insects ; particularly Moths and
Butterflies, illustrated with a copper plate," printed in 1771.
In the following year he published a translation of the
*' Fundamenta Entomolooise" of Linnaeus, entitled " An
Introduction to the Knowledge of Insects," many valuable
additions being subjoined to the original treatise. These
two pamphlets have contributed more than any similar works,
to diffuse a knowledge of scientific entomology in En£:land,
and to engraft on the illiterate illiberal stock of mere collec-
tors, a race of enlightened and communicative observers of
nature; who no longer hoard up unique sjjecimens, and sel-
fish acquisitions, but contribute their discoveries and their
experience for the benefit of the agriculturist, the manu-
facturer, or the physician.
The celebrity which these publications procured for their
author, was soon altogether eclipsed by what arose from
his botanical labours, which have placed him in the very
first rank of English writers in that department of science.
In 1777 appeared the first number of his " Flora Londi-
uensis," containing six folio plates, with a page or more
lof letter-press, consisting of a description in Latin and
English, with synonyms of each plant, and copious remarks
on its history, uses, qualities, and the insects it nourishes.
Each number was sold at half a crown plain, five shillings
coloured ; and some copie?, finished with extraordinary
care, were sold at seven shillings and six-pence. The
iirst artist employed in making the drawings for this work,
was Mr. Kilburn, who used a camera obscura for the pur-
pose ; his sketches were shaded with Indian ink, before
the colours were laid on. The performances of this artist
have not been excelled in any similar work. When from
17-S CURTIS.
other engagements, Mr. Kilbiirn was obliged to relinquish
his task, Mr. Sowerby was employed, and maintained undi-
minished the perfection of the figures. After him, Mr.
Sydenham Edwards was engaged by Mr. Curtis, with no
less credit, both in this publication and the " Botanical Ma-
gazine" hereafter mentioned. Of the plates of the " Flora
Londinensis" too much cannot be said ; their beauty and
botanical accurac}- are alike eminent, and it is only to be
regretted that the manufactory of paper, as well as the ty-
pographical art, were in so degraded a state when this
book first appeared. For this its author cannot be respon-
sible, nor are these defects of any moment in the eyes of
learned or scientific readers, to whom the work in ques-
tion, independent of its excellent figures, ranks ne.xt to
Ray's Synopsis, in original merit and authority upon
Enghsh plants. It may be added, that the works of Curtis
have tended, more than any other publications of their day,
to give that tone of urbanity and liberality to the science,
which every subsequent writer of good character has ob-
served. Wherever their author swerved in any degree
from this candour, which was very seldom, and not per-
haps without provocation, it was always to his own loss ;
and he was thus led into some of the very few mistakes
tiiat he has committed.
The *' Fl-ora Londinensis" was extended to six fasciculi^
of seventy-two plates each, and ten years after the begin-
ning of it, Mr. Curtis undertook a new publication, the
*' Botanical Magazine," a work whose, sale has been ex-
tensive beyond all former example, and which is in every
respect worthy of its author. No book has more diffused
a taste for unsophisticated nature and science. It rewarded
its contriver with pecuniary emolument as well as with
merited celebrity, and is still continued with unabated utility.
It is designed to be a general repository of garden plants,
whether [)reviously figured or not in other works, but it
has often had the advantage of giving entire novelties to
the public.
In 1782, Mr. Curtis published a history of the brown-
tailed moth, an insect confounded by Linnicus under his
Phalaena Chrysorrhoea. Tlie design of this pamphlet was
to allay the alarm which had been excited in the country
round the metropolis, by an extraordinary abundance of
the caterpillars of this moth, and which svas so great, that
CURTIS. 177
the parish officers oflered rewards for collecting these cater-
pillars, and attended in form to see them burnt by bushels at
a time. It was one of those popular alarms which every now
and then arise amonsc the ignorant multitude, and which
vanish before the first ray of common sense. When the
natural liistory of the insect was inquired into, and com-
pared with that of otiiers, no cause for any great appre-
hension could be discerned ; and indeed the subsequent
years were not more abundant in this species than usual.
Besides the above works, Mr. Curtis published " Prac-
tical Observations on the British Grasses," in 8vo; his
truly praise-worthy aim being to direct the farmer to a
knowledge and discrimination of the species and their qua-
lities. He also from time to time printed catalogues of
his garden. He was induced, by the unfortunate alarnn.
which he conceived at the publication of" English Botany,'*
an apparently rival work, to put forth diminished figures
in 8vo, of his great Flora ; but these met with no appro-
bation nor success, and were soon discontinued. His
*' Lectures on Botany," rendered needlessly expensive by
superfluous coloured plates, have appeared since his death;
but for this publication he is not responsible. Two admi-
rable entomological papers of Mr. Curtis are found in the
" Transactions of the Linnean Society •" of which society
he was one of the original fellows. The first of these is an
account of the Silpha Grisea, and Curculio Lapathi, two
coleopterous insects very destructive to willows. The
other paper is intended to shew that the Aphides, or lice
of plants, are " the sole cause of the honev-dew," a new
theory on the subject, and perfectly just, as far as con-
cerns the most common kind of honey-dew. This paper
was digested by the president from the unfinished materials
of- its author, and communicated to the society after his
death, which happened on the 7th of July, 1799, after he
had for near a twelvemonth laboured under a disease in the
chest, supposed to be of a dropsical n.'.ture ; but which
was rather, perhaps, an organic aHection of the heart, or
of the great vessels immediately connected with it. His
remains were interred at Battersea church. He left be-
hind him the character of an honest friendly man, a lively
and entertaining companion, and a good master. He was
ever I'eady to encouage and assist beginnet^j in his fa-
vourite science, and always endeavoured to render that
science as attractive as possibie. It must not be forgotiea
Vol. XL N
17« CURTIS.
that he was one of the first, who, in spite of authority,
Contributed to remove some reproaches to which it was»
justly liable, on the score of indelicacy. This last praise
is justly paid to Mr. Curtis by an excellent and very erai-
iien^t friend, who has given the world a history of his life
and merits in the Gentleman's Magazine for 1799, whence
we have derived many of the above particulars.'
CURTIUS (Cornelius), a native of Brussels, where
he was born in 1586, became a monk of the Augustine
order, and rose to honours and high official situations among
his order; being prefect of the schools of Brussels and
Louvaine, a provincial of various convents, and counsellor
and historiographer to the emperor of Germany. He had
the character of a man of extensive learning and piety, the
latter carried sometimes to the minutiae of superstition, as
appears by his work " De Clavis Dominicis," of which
there are three editions, 1622, 1632, and 1670: in this
he gravelj' discusses whether our Saviour was fixed to the
cross with three nails or four? and decides in favour of the
latter number. His more valuable works are: 1. " Vitae
S. S. Ruperti et Virgilii," Ingolstadt, 1622. 2. " Epis-
tolas familiares," ibid. 1621. 3. *' Poematum libri tres,"
Ant. 1629, 12mo. 4. *' Amphitheatrum amoruni, Christ,
fonseca auotore, Curtio interprete," Ingolstadt, 1623,
8vo. $. " Quadragesimale" by Fonseca, translated from
the Spanish into Latin, Cologn. 6. *' Vit?e quinque Vir-
ginum Augustiniarura," ibid. 1636. 7. " Elogia virorum
illustrium Ord. Eremit. S. Augustini," with engraven por-
traits, Antwerp, 1636, 4to. 8. "Vita S. Nicolai Tolen-
tinatis," with tlie lives of other Augustines, ibid. 1637,
Ifimo. He left also some unfinished manuscripts. He
died in Oct. 1638.=*
CURTIUS (Michael Conrad), professor of history {ind
rhetoric at Marpurg, was born Aug. 18, 1724, at Techen-
tin, in the duchy of Mecklenburg, of which place his
father- was minister. After his decease, his mother mar-
ried his successor, John Frederic Aepin ; and it was from
him that her son's mind received its first cultivation. He
was then placed in the schools at Parchim and Schwerin,
and in 1742 repaired to the university of Rostock. Having
comj)leted his academical studies, he accepted the situa-
» Gent. Map. vol. LXIX. p. 6'28, 635, methodized in Rees's Cyclopadit.
• Fttppeo iJibl. B'.lg, — .Mwreri.— Cteuicnt Bibl. Curieu»f. — Saxij Ouvsasft.
C U R T I U S. 179
tion of private tutor in the family of the superintendant
Paul Rehfeld, of Stralsund. Here he remained till the
minister of state, baron von Schwicheldt, of Hanover, be-
came acquainted with him, and entrusted him with the
education of his children. That gentleman gave Curtius
many proofs of the regard he entertained for him. Among
other things, during the seven years' war, at a time when
he himself was overwhelmed with business, he once charged
Curtius with an important commission to the duke of Bruns-
wick, who then commanded the allied army. He likewise
gained the entire confidence of that excellent minister,
the baron von Miinchhausen, who had become acquainted
with him by means of Schwicheldt. He held his situation
in the house of the latter till 1759, when he was appointed
regular professor at the academy of Liineburg, where he
taught logic, metaphysics, history, &c. In 1767 he was
appointed professor of history, rhetoric, and poetry, at
Marburg, and about this time published his " Commentarii
de Senatu Romano, sub imperatoribus, &c." In 1769,
he also published a translation of Columella on agriculture,
with notes.
In 1758 he was invested with the dignitj' of privy-coun-
sellor; and in 1795 became principal of the faculty of phi-
losophy. He twice held the office of pro-rector of the
university, in which he gave universal satisfaction. During
a period of thirty-four years, he taught, with indefatigable
diligence, all the branches of history, statistics, and geo-
graphy- ; explained the Roman antiquities, the imitative
arts, natural and experimental philosophy, rural economy,
&c. and gave introductory lessons on the formation of a
good Latin style. At the same time, he fulfilled all his
other college-duties with the most scrupulous fidelity, till
the few last weeks of his active life. His health was to-
lerably good, excepting that he was sometimes attacked
with a paralytic affection, aud symptoms of the stone. la
the spring of 1802, his constitution began to break ; and,
notwithstanding all the attention of his friend and phy-
sician, Michaelis, his health declined rapidly. In the last
twelve or fourteen days of his life, his memory was con-
siderably impaired. He had been particularly distin-
guished by the strength of that faculty ; and has frequently
been known to write down in his lectures, whole tables,
containing dates of years, and other figures, merely from
recollection, and without a single error. This alteration^
N 2,
180 C U R T I U S.
and the anxiety lie felt because he was preventecl from at-
tending his official duties, preyed on his mind, and weak-*
ened him more than his disorder. On the 22d of August^
1802, this venerable man expired, aged seventy-eight years
arid four days.
Curtius was a man of the most extensive and various at-
tainments 5 and his career as an author, an academical
teacher, and a man, tended only to promote the welfare
of his fellow creatures. His adopted country, Hesse, was
particularly benefited by his history and statistics of that
province, pubHshcd at Marburg in 171*3, and by numerous
programmas which he drew up. By his smaller pieces,
abounding: in critical investigrations and new views, he made
many an important accession to the history of other Eui'o-
pean states, and to literature in general. His labours
were Ions: and meritorious : he could rejoice over then) at
the termination of iiis career, and could behold with plea-
sure many a flourishing plant of his own cultivation. All
his fellow-citizens gave him the testimony that he was a
learned and rigidly upright man, religious in the most ex-
alted sense of the word, just and benevolent, open and
undisguised. His calm, peaceful, and tranquil lite ; his
indefatigable attention to his duties, without ostentation ;
his manly spirit, which equally disdained artifice and base
submissnon, deserve to be held forth as patterns for imi-
tation.*
CURTIUS (QuiNTUs), is the name, or assumed name^
of a Latin historian, who has written the actions of Alex-
ander the Great, in ten books ; the two first of which are
indeed not extant, but yet are so well supplied by Frein-
shemius, as to be thought equal to the others. Where
this author was born, and when he lived, are disputed
points among the learned, and never likely to be settled.
Some have fancied, from the elegant style of his history,
that he must have lived in or near the Augustan age ; but
there are no explicit testimonies to confirm this opinion 5
and a judgment formed upon the single circumstance of
style wiil always be found precarious. Others place hini
in the reign of Vespasian, and others have brought him
down so low as to Trajan's : Gibbon is inclined to place
him in the time of Gordiau, in the middle of the third
cciiiury ; and some have imagined that the name of Quintus
' Monthly Magazine, — Saxii Ouomasticon, vol. VIII,
C U R T I U S. .181
Curtius was forged by an Italian, who composed that his-
tory, or romance as it has been called, about three hundred
years ago ; yet why so good a Latin writer, who might have
gained tiie reputationof the lirst Latin scholar of his time,
should have been willing to sacrifice his glory to that of an
imaginary Quintus Curtius, is a question yet to be re-
solved. On the other hand it is certain that Quintus Cur-
tius was ati admired historian of the romantic ages. He is
quoted in the " Policraticon" of John of Salisbury, who
died ill the year 1181; and Peter Blesensis, archdeacon of
London, a student at Paris, about 1150, mentioning the
books most common in the schools, declares that " he pro-
fited much by frequently looking into this author." All
this is decidedly against the opinion that Quintus Curtiu.
is a forgery of only three hundred years old.
Cardinal du Perron was so ^reat an admirer of this his-
torian, that he declared one page of him to be worth thirty
ot Tacitus. This extiavagant admiration, however, may
be somewhat abated by a view of what Le Clerc has written
about this author, at the end of his book upon the art of
of criticism ; in which are manifestly shewn several great
faults in him, ignorance of astronomy and geography, con-
tradictions, erroneous descriptions, bad taste in the choice
of matter, carelessness in dating the events, kc. ; though
perhaps, as Bayle rightly observes, the greatest part of
those faults might be found in most ancient historians, if
one would take the pains, or had the opportunity, to cri-
ticise them severely. He has nevertheless many qualities
as a writer, which will always make him admired and ap-
plauded ; and notwithstanding the censures of some critics,
this historian deserves to be commended for his sincerity,
for he speaks the good and the bad of his hero, without
the least prepossession of his merit. If any fault is to be
found with his history, it is for being too highly polished.
There is a singular anecdote, relating to this historian,
preserved of Alphonso king of Naples, which may be
mentioned as another proof of what we have advanced
above, respecting the forgery of Quintus Curtius. This
prince, who lived in the thirteenth century, labouring under
an indisposition at Capua, from which none of his physi-
cians could relieve him, every one strove to bring him
such things as they thought would divert him best. An-
tonius Panormita made choice of books, and among the
rest, the history of Alexander, by Quintus Curtius. To
182 C U H T I U" S.
this the prince listened very attentively, and was so ex-
tremely pleased with it, tbat he almost entirely recovered
the very first day it was read to him. Upon which occa-
sion he could not help rallying his physicians, and telling
them, that whatever they might think of their Hippocrates
and their Avicenna, Quintus Curtius was worth a thousand
of them.
The first edition of this author was printed in 1 470. The
best editions of more modern date, are the Elzevir, 12mo,
1633 and 1653 ; Freinsheim's, 1640, 2 vols. 8vo, and those
of Rapp, 1640, 4to; Cellarius, 1688-91-96, 12mo, and Sna*
kenburg, 1724, 4to. We have a very old E'.iglish translation
by John Brende, dated 1561 ; a second by Codrington,
1670; and a third more modern, by Digby, 2 vols. 12mo.*
CUSA (Nicholas de), a cardinal, so called from Cusa,
the place of his birth, was born in 1401. His parents were
mean and poor; and it was his own personal merit which
raised him to the height of dignity he afterwards attained.
He was a man of extraordinary parts and learning, particu-
larly famous for his vast knowledge in law and divinity,
and a great natural philosopher and geometrician. Ni-
cholas V. made him a cardinal by the title of St. Peter ad
vincula, in 1448 ; and two years after, bishop of Brixia,
In 1451 he was sent legate into Germany, to preach the
crusade, but not succeeding in this attempt, he performed
the more meritorious service of reforming some monasteries
which he visited, and of establishing some new rules re-
lating to ecclesiastical discipline. He returned to Rome
under Calixtus III. and afterwards was made governor of it
by Pius II. during his absence at Mantua, where he was
chief concerter and manaojer of the war against the Turks,
-1.1 ^ ^
He died at Todi, a city of Umbria, in 1464, aged sixty-
three years. His body was interred at Rome ; but his
heart, it is said, was carried to a church belonging to the
hospital of St. Nicholas, which he had founded near Cusa,
and where he collected a most noble and ample library of
Greek and Latin authors. He left many excellent works
behind him, which were printed in three volumes at Basil,
in 1565. The first volume contains all his metaphysical
tracts, in which he is very abstruse and profound ; the
second, his controversial pieces, and others which relate
' Geii. Diet, in art. Quintus.— Moieri.—Warton's Hist, of Poetry,— SaxiJ
OttoinaEt.
C U R T I U S, 183
to the discipline of the church ; the third, his mathema-
tical, geographical, and astronomical works. It is said of
Cusa, that before 1)0 was made a cardinal, he had taken
the freedom to reprehend some errors and misdemeanours
in the pope; and there are some instances in his works,
where he has made no scruple to detect and expose the
lying sophistries and false traditions of his church. In his
piece entitled " Catholic Concord," he has acknowledged
the vanity and groundlessness of that famous donation of
Constantine the Great to Sylvester, bishop of Rome. He
gained considerable reputation by his *' Cribratio Alcorani."
The Turks had taken Constantmople in 145 3, which
seems to have given occasion to his writing this book, by
way of antidoie, as he proposed it, to the doctrines of thff
Koran, which were now in so fair a way of being spread
through the western parts of the world. It appears by the
dedication, that it was not written till after the loss of that
city ; being inscribed to Pius II. who did not enter on
the papacy till the Turks had been about three years iti'
possession of it. It is a very learned and judicious per-
formance.'
CUSPINIAN (John), whose German name was Speis-'
HAMMER, an eminent historian, was boin in 1473, at
Sweinfurt, in Franconia, a[)d became distinguished as a
philosopher, historian, orator, poet, and physician, although
his historical works only have survi\ed. He was educated-
at Vienna, where his studies were confined to medicine
and poetry, and soon became in high favour with the em-
peror Maximilian I. who made him his librarian, and after-
wards employed him in various important negociations in
Hungary, Bohemia, and Poland, and for many years admit-
ted him to his presence as a confidential adviser, and placed
him at the head of the senate of Vienna. When Cuspinian;
meditated his historical writings, the emperor ordered the
libraries and archives to be thrown open to him. He died
in 1529. His biographer, Gerbelius, describes him as a
man of elegant person, address, and manners; and his-
works attest his learning and diligence in historical researclu
In this branch he wrote : 1. " De Ciusaribus et Imperato-
ribus RoQianorum," 1j19, fol. ; reprinted at Strasbingh,
1540; Basil, by Oporinus, 1561, and Francfort, 1601.
.. ' Moreri in art. Nicholas. — Frfcheri Tbeatrum. — Blount's Censura. — Cave.—
Saxii OnomaEt.
184 C U S P I N I A N.
2. " Austria, sive Commentarius de rebus Austriae Mar-
chionum, Ducum, &c." Basil, 1553, fol. ; Francf'ort, 1601.
3. " Commonefactio ad Leoiiem X. papam, ad Carolum V.
imperatorem, &c de Constantinopoli capta a Turcis, &c."
Leipsic, 1596, 4to. 4. *' Commentarius in Sexti Rufi li-
bellurn de regia, consulari, imperialique dignitate, &c.'*
Basil, 1553, fol. with his life by Gerbelius, reprinted at
Francfort, 1601, fol. 5. " De origine Turcorum," Ant-
werp, 1541, 8vo. 6. " Patiegyrici variorum Auctorum,'*
Vienna, 1513.'
CUTHBERT (St.) was born in the north of England,
in the beginning of the sixth century, and educated under
the Scottish monks in the famous abbey of 1' col nihil I, ce-
lebrated for having been the seat of learning for British
and Irish monks in that age. The Scottish and Irish monks
were then stimulated by the fervency of pious zeal to con-
vert the pagan Saxons to the Christian religion, and for
that purpose Cuthbert with some others settled in the
island of Lindisferne, about four miles from Berwick. Eg-
fred, king of Northumberland, invited Cuthbert to his
court, where he converted and baptized many of his nobles,
and acquired such reputation, that he received episcopal
ordination at York, as bishop of the Northumbrian Saxons.
But his love of solitude induced him to return to Lindis-
ferne, since called Holy-island, where he founded a mo-
nastery, the remains of which are yet to be seen. There
he lived to a great age, and died in the year 686, leaving
behind him a great number of disciples. Whatever may
be said of those zealous monkish saints who lived from the
fifth to the eighth century, it is certain they were better
men than their successors have represented them. They
never pretended to work miracles, but the latter monks
have made them perform manv, even after their deaths.
There can remain little doubt but Cuthbert was interred
in Holy-island, where he resigned his breath; but the
monks, ever fertile at invention, have told us many ridi-
culous stories concerning him. They say that he was first
buried at Norhan), in Northumberland ; but, not relishing
the damp situation, he appeared in person to his monks,
and desired them to carry his bones to Melrose, ahout
twenty miles farther up the Tweed. His request was com-
• Prfiheri Theatrum.— Blount's Censura.— Melchior Adam.— Fabric. Bibl,
Med. et Inf. iEiat. — Saxii Onomast.
C U T H B E R T. 185
plied with ; but Melrose not being agreeable to him, he
again appeared to his monks, and desired them to put him
into a stone boat, and sail with him dovvn the Tweed to
'I'ihnouth, where he rested some years. The stone boat
was left with a farmer, wiio made it a tub for pickhng beef
in, which enraged St. Cuthbert so much, that he came in
the niglit-time and broke it in pieces. The monks, al-
though almost tired with carrying ilie saint so often, were
obliged to travel with him once more, and rested at Ches-
ter ; but that place not being agreeable, they carried him
to Durham, wliere his bones rested in peace till the time
of the retormation, when the wife of Dr. Whittingham,
then dean ot that church, and one of the translators of the
psalms ascribed to Siernhold and Hopkins, ordered them
to be taken up and thrown upon a dunghill.*
CUTTS (John Lord), a brave officer in king William's
wars, was a younger son of Richard Cutts, esq. of an
ancient and distinguished family, settled about the time of
Henry VI. at Matching in Essex, where they had consider-
able property. His father removed to Childerley in Cam-
bridgeshire, to take possession of a good estate given him
by sir John Cutts, hart, who died without issue. This,
estate, after the decease of an elder brother, devolved on
John ; who sold it, to pay incumbrances, to equip himself
as a soldier, and to enable hmiself to travel. After an
academical education at Cambridge, he entered early into
the service of the duke of Monu)outh, and afterwards was
aid-de-camp to the duke of Lorrain in Hungary, and sig-
nalized himself in a very extraordinary manner at the
taking of Buda by the imperialists in 1686; which impor-
tant place had been for nearly a century and a half in the
hands of the Turks Mr. Addison, in a Latin poem, not
unworthy of the Augustan age, plainly hints at Mr. Cutts's
distinguished bravery at that siege. He was afterwards
colonel of a regiment in Holland under the States, and ac-
companied king William to Kngland, who " being gra-
ciously pleased to confer a mark of his royal favour upon
colonel John Cutts, for his faithful services, and zealous
affection to his royal person and y;overnment, thought fit
to create hnn a baron of the kingdom of Ireland, by the
style and title of iiaron Cutts of Gowran in the said king-
' Last edition of this Dirt. — Butltr's Lives of the Saints, and Biitanni*
Sancta.— Mackenzie's Scotch Writers, toI. 1. p. 337.
1S6 C U T T S.
dom, December 6, 1690." He was appointed governor of
the Isle of Wight, April 14, 1693 ; made a major-general j
and, when the assassination-project was discovered, 1695-6,
was captain of the king's guard. He was twice married ;
first to Elizabeth, daughter of George Clark of London,
merchant (relict of John Morley, of Glynd, in Sussex, and
after, of John Trevor, esq. eldest brother to the first lord
Trevor). This lady died in Feb. 1692. His second wife,
jan amiable young woman, was educated under the care of
her grandmother, the lady Pickering, of Cambridgeshire.
She was brought to bed of a son, September 1, 1697, and
died in a few days after, aged only 1 8 years and as many
days. Her character has been admirably delineated by
bishop Atterbury, in the dedication to a sermon he
preached on occasion of her death.
In 1695, and the three following parliaments, lord Cutts
was regularly elected one of the representatives both for
the county of Cambridge, and for the borough of New*
port in the Isle of Wight ; but made his election for the
former. In two parliaments which followed (1702 and
1705) he represented Newport. In 1698 he was compli-
mented by Mr. John Hopkins, as one to whom " a double
crown was due," as a hero and as a poet. In 1699, he is
thus introduced in a compliment to king William on his
conquests :
" The warlike Cutts the welcome tidings brings.
The true brave servant of the best of kings j
Cutts, whose known worth no herald needs proclaim.
His wounds and his own worth can speak his fame."
He was colonel of the Coldstream, or second regiment of
guards, in 1701 ; when Steele, who was indebted to his
interest for a captain's commission in the lord Lucas's regi-
ment of fusileers, inscribed to him his first work, " The
Christian Hero," On the accession of queen Anne, he
was made a lieutenant-general of the forces in Holland.
February 13, 1702-3, he was appointed commander in
chief of the English forces on the continent, during the
absence of the duke of Marlborough ; commander in chief
of the forces in Ireland, under the duke of Ormond, March
23, 170'l'-5; and afterwards one of the lords justices of
that kingdom, to keep him out of the way of action, a cir-
cumstance which broke his heart. He died at Dublin,
Jan. 26, 1706-7, and was buried there on the 29th, in the
C U T T S. 187
cathedral of Christ-church. He was a person of eminent
natural parts, well cultivated hy study and conversation ;
of a free, unreserved temper; and of undaunted braveiy
and resolution. As he was a servant to queen Mary when
princess of Orange, and learned the trade of war under her
consort, he was early devoted to them both, and a warm
supporter of the revolution. He was an absolute stranger
to fear; and on all occasions gave distinguishing proofs of
his intrepidity, particularly at the siege of Limerick in
1691, at the meu)orable attack of the castle of Namur in
1695, and at the siege of Venio in 1702. Macky says of
him, in 1703 : " He hath abundance of wit, but too much
seized with vanity and self-conceit ; he is affable, familiar,
and very brave. Few considerable actions happened in
this as well as the last war, in which he was not, and hath
been wounded in all tlie actions where he served ; is es-
teemed to be a mighty vigilant officer, and for putting the
military orders in execution ; he is pretty tall, lusty, well-
shaped, and an agreeable companion ; hath great revenues,
yet so very expensive, as always to be in debt ; towards
fifty years old." Swift, in a MS note on the above pas-
sage, with his usual laconic cruelty, calls lord Cutts,
*' The vainest old fool alive." He wrote a poem on the
death of queen Mary ; and published in 1687, " Poetical
Exercises, written upon several occasions, and dedicated
to her Royal Highness Mary Princess of Orange ; licensed
March 23, 1686-7, Roger L'Estrange." It contains, be-
sides the dedication signed "J. Cutts," verses to that prin-
cess ; a poem on Wisdom ; another to Mr. Waller on his
commending it; seven more copies of verses (one of them
called " La Muse Cavalier," which had been ascribed to
lord Peterborough, and as such mentioned by Mr. Walpole
in the list of that nobleman's writings), and eleven songs ;
the whole composing a very thin volume, which is by no
means so scarce as Mr. Walpole supposes it to be. The
author speaks of having more pieces by him.^
CYNEAS, originally of Thessaly, the disciple of De-
mosthenes and minister of Pyrrhus, equally celebrated as
a philosopher and as an orator, flourished in the 125th.
olympiad, about 280 B. C. Pyrrhus said of him, " that
he had taken more towns by his eloquence, than he had by
' Biog. Urit. for which the life was originally drawn up by Mr. Nichols.— -See
also his Collection of Poems, and Atterliury's Correspondence.— Orfoid's Royal
and Noble Authors. — Swift's Woiks, by Nichols,
188 C Y N E A S.
his arms." This prince sent him to Rome to solicit a
peace, which was nearly granted him, when Appius Clau-
dius and Fabricius, who were not to moved by the flowers
of rhetoric, influenced the senate to adopt other measures.
Cyneas, being returned to the camp of Pyrrhus, described
Rome to him as a temple, the senate as an assembly of
kings, and the Roman people as a hydra, which recruited
its vigour as often as it was defeated. Pliny cites tlie me-
mory of Cyneas as a prodigy, at least in remembering per-
sons ; for the day after his arrival at Rome, he saluted all
the senators and knights by their several names. ,He
abridged the book of ^neas the tactician, on the defence
of places, which Casaubon published with a Latin version,
in the Paris edition of Polybius, 1609, folio, and M. de
Beausobre translated it into french, with comments, 1757,
4-to. *
CYPRIAN (Thascius C/ecilius), a principal father of
the Christian church, was born at Carthage in Africa,
about the beginning of the third century. We know no-
thing more of his parents, than that they were heathens ;
and he himself continued such till the last twelve years of
his life. He applied himself early to the study of oratory ;
and some of the ancients, Lactantius in particular, informs
us, that he taught rhetoric at Carthage with the highest
applause. TertuUian was his master ; and Cyprian was so
fond of reading him, that, as St. Jerome tells us, seldom a
day passed without his saying to his amanuensis, *' Da ma-
gistrum," Give me my master. Cyprian, however, far
excelled TertuUian as a writer.
In the year 2i6 Cyprian was prevailed on to embrace
Christianity, at Carthage, by Csecilius, a priest of that
church, whose name Cyprian afterwards took ; and be-
tween whom there ever after subsisted so close a friend-
ship, that Ca^cilius at his death committed to Cyprian the
care of his family. Cyprian was also a married man him-
self; but as soon as he became a Christian, he resolved
upon a state of continence, which was thought a high de-
gree of piety, as being yet not become general. This we
learn from his deacon Pontius, who has left ns memoirs of
his life, which are prefixed to his works, but are not so
ample in information as might have been expected from
one who knew him so well. It was now incumbent upon
* Moreri, &c.
CYPRIAN. 189
him to give the usual proof of the sincerity of his conver-
sion, by writing against paganism, and in defence of Chris-
tianity. \Vith this view he composed his piece '* De gra-
tia Dei, or, concerning the grace of God," wiiich he ad-
dressed to Donatiis. It is a work of the same nature with
the Apologetic of Tertnllian, and the Octavius of Minutius
FeHx ; and it is remarkal)h", iliat Cyprian has not only in-
sisted upon the same arguments with those writers, but
frequently transcribed their words, those of Minutius Felix
especially. In the year 247, the year after his conversion,
he composed another piece upon the subject, entitled
*' De idolorum vanitate, or, upon the vanity of idols;" in
which he has taken the same liberties with Tertuliian and
Minutius Felix. His Oxford editor, bishop Fell, endea-
vours to excuse him from the charge of plagiarism upoa
this occasion ; becaqse, says he, having the same points
to treat as all the apologists had before, namely, the truth
and excellency of Christianity, and the falsehood and vanity
of heathenism, he could not vv,ell avoid making use of the
same topics.
Cyprian's behaviour, both before and after his baptism,
was so highly pleasing to the bishop of Carthage, that he
ordained liim priest a few months after, although it waa
rather irregular to ordain any person in his noviciate : But
Cyprian was so extraordinary a person, and thought capa-
ble of doing: such singidar service to the church, that it
might seem allowable in his case to dispense a little with
the form and discipline of it. Besides his known talents as
a man of learning, he had acquired a high reputation of
sanctity since his conversion ; having not only separated
himself from his wife, which in those days was thought an
extraordinary act of piety, but also consigned over all his
goods to the poor, and given himself up entirely to the
things of God ; and on this account, when the bishop of
Carthage died the year after, that is, in the year 248, none
was judged so proper to succeed him as Cyprian. Cyprian
himself, as Pontius tells us, was extremely against it, and
kept out of the way on jjurpose to avoid being chosen j
but the people insisted upon it, and he was forced to com-
ply. The quiet and repose which the Christians had en-
joyed for the last forty years, had, it seems, greatly cor-
rupted their manners ; and tlierefore Cyprian's first care,
after his advancement to the bishopric, was to correct dis-
orders and reform abuses. Luxury was prevalent among
190 CYPRIAN.
them ; and many of their women weie remarkable inde-
corous in the article of dress. This occasioned him to draw
up his piece, " De habitu virginum, or, concerning the
dress of young women ;" in which, besides what he says
on that particular head, he inculcates many lessons of mo-
desty and sobriety.
In the year 249, the emperor Decius began to issue out
very severe edicts against the Christians, which particu-
larly affected those living upon the coasts of Africa ; and
in the beginning of the year 250, the heathens, in the
circus and amphitheatre at Carthage, loudly insisted upon
Cyprian's being thrown to the lions : a common method,
as is well known, of destroying the primitive Christians,
Cyprian upon this withdrew from his church at Carthage,
and fled into retirement, to avoid the fury of the persecu-
tion ; which step, how justifiable soever in itself, gave
great scandal, and seems to have been considered by the
clergy of Rome, in a public letter written upon the sub-
ject of it to the clergy of Carthage, as a desertion of his
post and pastoral duty. It is no wonder, therefore, to find
Cyprian himself, as well as his apologist, Pontius, the
writer of his life, so solicitous to excuse it ; which they
both endeavour to do by affirming, in the true spirit of the
times, " that he was commanded to retire by a special
revelation from heaven ; and that his flight was not the
effect of any other fear but that of offending God." It u
remarkable, that this father was a great pretender to visions.
For instance, in a letter to Caecilius, he declares, ** that
he had received a divine admonition, to mix water with
wine in the sacrament of the eucharist, in order to render
it effectual." In another to the clergy, concerning cer-
tain priests, who had restored some lapsed Christians too
hastily to the communion of the church, he threatens them
to execute " what he was ordered to do against them, in a
vision, if they did not desist." He makes the same threat
to one Pupianus, who had spoken ill of him, and withdrawn
himself from his communion. In a letter likewise to the
clergy and the people, he tells them, " how he had been
admonished and directed by God to ordain one Numidicus
a priest." Dodwell, in his " Dissertationes Cyprianicte,"
has made a large collection of these visions af Cyprian,
which he treats with more reverence than they seem to
deserve.
As soon as Cyprian had withdrawn himself, ho was pro-
CYPRIAN. 191
scribed by name, and his goods confiscated. He lay con-
cealed, but not inactive; for he continued to write from
time to time to the clergy and to the laity such letters as
their unhappy situation and occasions required. He ex-
horted the clergy to take care of the discipline of the
church, of the poor, and especially of those who suffered
for the gospel ; and he gave them particular directions
upon each of these heads. He exhorted the people to be
of good courage, to stand fast in the faith, and to per-
severe against all the terrors of persecution even unto
death ; assuring them, in the words of the apostle, that the
present " afflictions, which were but for a moment, would
work for them a far more exceeding and eternal weight of
glory." When the persecution ceased, either in 251 or
252, Cyprian returned to Carthage, and appeared again
at the head of his clergy. He had now much business
upon his hands, which was occasioned in his absence,
partly by the persecution, and the disorders attending it,
and partly by divisions which had arisen among the Chris-
tians. The first thing that presented itself was the case of
the lapsed, or those unhappy members of the church who
had not been able to scand the fiery trial of persecution,
but had been drawn by the terrors of it to renounce Christ,
and sacrifice to idols ; and for the settling of this, he im-
mediately called a council at Carthage. The year after,
he called another council, to sit upon the baptism of
infants; and, in 255, a third, to debate concerning bap-*
tism received from heretics, which was there determined
to be void and of no effect. All these points had produced
great disputes and disturbances; and as to the last, namely,
heretical baptism, it was so far from being fixed at Car-
thage to the satisfaction of the church, that Stephen, the
bishop of Rome, and a great part of the Christian world,
afterwards opposed it with the utmost violence.
These divisions and tumults among the Christians raised
a second persecution against them, in 257, under the
emperor Valerian. Cyprian was summoned to appear
before Paternus, the proconsul of Carthage, by whom,
after he had confessed himself a Christian, and refused to
sacrifice to idols, he was condemned to be banished. He
was sent to Curebis, a little town fifty miles from Carthage,
aituated by the sea, over against Sicily : and here Pontius
says he had another vision, admonishing him of his death,
i^hich was to happen the year after. When he had con-
192 CYPRIAN.
tinued in this place, where he was treated with kindness
by the natives, and frequently visited by the Christians,
for eleven months, Galerius Maximus, a new proconsul,
who had succeeded Aspasius, recalled him from his exile,
and ordered him publicly to appear at Carthage, Gale-
rius, however, bein^^ retired to Utica, and Cyprian having
intimation that he was to be carried thither, the latter
absconded, and, when soldiers were sent to apprehend
tim, was not to be found. Cyprian excuses this conduct
in a letter, by saying, that " it was not the fear of death
which made him conceal himself, but that he thought it
became a bishop to die upon the spot, and in sight of that
flock over which he presided." Accordingly, when the
proconsul returned to Carthage, Cyprian came forth, and
presented himself to the guards, who were commissioned
and ready to seize him. He was carried to the proconsul,
who ordered him to be brought again on the morrow.
Cyprian being introduced, the proconsul put several ques-"
tions to him, which he replying to with unchangeable for-
titude, the former pronounced upon him the sentence of
death ; to which the martyr answered, " God be praised!'*
He was then led awa} to the place of execution, where he
suffered with great firmness and constancy ; after he had
been bishop of Carthage ten years, and a Christian not
more than twelve. He died Sept. 14, 258.
The works of tliis father and confessor have been often
printed. The first edition of any note was that of Rigal-
tius, printed at Paris in 164S; afterwards in 1666, with
very great additions. This edition of Rigaltius was con-
siderably improved by Fell, bishop of Oxford ; at which
place it was handsomely printed in 1682, with the " An-
nales Cypr.anici" of bishop Pearson prefixed. Fell's edi-
tion was reprinted at Amsterdam in 1700; after which a
Benedictine monk published another edition of this father
at Paris in 1727. The works of Cyprian have been trans-
lated into English by Dr. Marshal in 1717 ; for this reason
chiefiy, that of all the f. thers none are capable of being
so useiully quoted, in su|)poriing the doctrines and dis-
cipline of our church, as he. His It ttcrs are particularly
valuable, as they not only afford more particulars of his
life than Pontius has oriven, but are a valuable treasure of
ecclesiastical liistory. The spiiit, taste, discipline, and ha-
bits of the times, among Christians, an- strongly deli-
Bcated i nor have we m all the thud century auy accouut
CYRIL. 193
to be compared with them. In his general style, he is the
most eloquent and perspicuous of all the Latin fathers. *
CYRANO. See BERGERAC.
CYRIL, of Jerusalem, was ordained a priest of that
church by Maximus bishop of Jerusalem ; and after Maxi-
mus's death, which happened about the year 350, became
his successor in that see, through the interest of Acacius
bishop of Cassarea, and the bishops of his party. This
made the orthodoxy of Cyril higldy suspected, because
Acacius was an Arian ; and St. Jerome accuses Cyril, as if
h« was one too : but Theodoret assures us, that he was
not. His connexions, however, with Acacius, were pre-
sently broken by a violent contest which arose between
them about the prerogatives of their respective sees. The
council of Nice had decreed to the bishop of Jerusalem the
honour of precedency amongst the bishops of his province,
without concerning himself at all with the right of the
church of Cffisarea, which was metropolitan to that of Je-
rusalem. This made Maximus, and after him Cyril, who
were bishops of Jerusalem, to insist upon certain rights
about consecrating bishops, and assembling councils, which
Acacius considered as an encroachment upon the jurisdic-
tions of his province. Hence a dispute ensued, and Aca-
cius calling a synod, contrived to have Cyril deposed,
under the pretence of a very great sin he had committed in
the time of a late famine, by exposing to sale the treasures
of the church, and applying the money to the support of
the poor. This, however, might possibly have been passed
over, as an offence at least of a pardonable nature, but for
one circumstance that unluckily attended it; which was,
that amongst these treasures that were sold there was a rich
embroidered robe, which had been presented to the church
by Constantine the Great ; and this same robe was afterwards
seen to have been worn by a common actress upon the
stage : which, as soon as it was known, was considered as a
horrible profanation of that sacred vestment.
Cyril, in the mean time, encouraged by the emperor
Constantius himself, appealed from the sentence of depo-
sition which Acacius and his council had passed upon him,
to the higher tribunal of a more numerous council ^ but
was obliged to retire to Tarsus, where he was kindly re-
• Cave. — Dupin. — Lardner, — Mosheim; but cbiefly Milner's Eccl. History
Fol. I. 3W, et seq.
Vol. XL O
194 CYRIL.
ceived by Sylvanus, the bishop of that place, and suflfered
to celebrate the holy mysteries, and to preach in his diocese.
In the year 359 he appeared at the council of Seleucia,
where he was treated as a lawful bishop, and had the rank
of precedency given him by several bishops, though Aca-
cius did all he could to hinder it, and deposed him a se-
cond time. Under Julian he was restored to his see of
Jerusalem, and is said to have interposed to prevent the
attemjjts that were made in that reign to rebuild the tem-
ple. Lastly, under Theodosius, we find him firmly esta-
blished in his old honours and dignities, in which he con-
tinued unmolested to the time of his death, which hap-
pened in the year 386.
The remains of this father are not voluminous ; but con-
sist of eighteen catechetical discourses, and five mysta-
gogic catecheses, and a single letter. The letter is in-
deed a remarkable one, as well for its being written to
Constantius, as for the subject it is written upon : for it
gives a wonderful account of the sign of the cross, which
appeared in the heavens at Jerusalem, in the reign of this
emperor, which was probably some natural phenomenon
not then understood. His catecheses form a well-dicrested
abridgment of the Christian doctrine : the first eighteen
are addressed to catechumens, and the other five to the
newly baptised. The style is plain and simple. The best
editions of his works are those of Petavius, Paris, 1622, fol.;
of Pnevotius, ibid. 1631; of Milles, Oxford, 1703; and of
Touttee, Paris, 1720. '
CYRIL, of Alexandria, another celebrated father of the
church, succeeded his uncle Theophilus in the bishopric of
that place in the year 412; and as the bishops of Alexandria
had long acquired great authority and power in that city,
Cyril took every opportunity to confirm and increase it. He
was no sooner advanced to this see, than he drove the Nova-
tians out of the city ; and, as Dupin says, stripped Theo-
pemptus their bishop of every thing he had. In the year
415 the Jews committed some insult upon the Christians of
Alexandria, which so inflamed the zeal of Cyril that he put
himself at the head of his people, demolished the syna-
gogues of the Jews, drove them all out of the city, and
suffered the Christians to pillage their effects. This, how-
ever, highly displeased Orestes, the governor of the town ;
1 Cave.—Dupin.
CYRIL. 195
who began to be sensible that the bishop's authority, if
not timely suppressed, might possibly be found too strong
for that of ilie magistrate. Upon whicli a kind of war broke
out between Orestes and tlie bishop, and each had his
party : the inhabitants were inclined to be seditious ; many
tumults were raised, and some battles fought in the very
streets of Alexandria. One day, when Orestes \vas abroad
in an open chariot, he found himself instatuly surrounded
with about 500 monks, who had left their monasteries to
revenge the quarrel of their bishop. They pursued him
fiercely, wounded him with stones, and had certainly killed
him, if the people had not restrained their fury till his
guards came up to his relief. Ammonius, one of these
monks, was afterwards seized by the order of Orestes,
and, being put upon the rack, died under the operation.
Cyril, however, had him immediately canonized, and took
every public opportunity of commending his zeal and
constancy. About the same time there was at Alexandria
a heathen philosophess, named Hypatia, whose fame and
character were every where so celebrated, that people
came from all parts to see and to consult her. Orestes saw
her often, which made the Christians imagine that it was
she who inspired the governor with such an aversion to
their bishop. This suspicion wrought so strongly upon
some of their zealots, that on a certain day they seized
upon Hypatia as she was returning home, dragged her
violently through the streets, and caused the mob to tear
her limb from limb. Damascius, who wrote the life of
Isidore the philosopher, charges Cyril himself with being
the contriver of this horrid murder.
But what affords the most memorable instance of Cyril's
fiery zeal, is his quarrel with Nestorius, bishop of Constan-
tinople. Nestorius had urged in some of his homilies,
that the virgin Mary ought not to be called the mother of
.God ; and these homilies coming to Egypt, raised no small
disturbances among the monks there. Cyril wrote a pas-
toral letter to the monks, in which he maintained, that she
was indeed the mother of God, and therefore ought to be
called so. As soon as Nestorius heard of this letter, he
openly declared Cyril his enemy, and refused to have any
further commerce with him. Cyril upon this, wrote Nes-
torius a very civil letter, without approving his doctrine ;
which Nestorius answered as civilly, without retracting it
The affair was laid at length before pope Celestiue j aftei
O 2
196 CYRIL.
which Cyril, supported by the pontiff's authority, began
to issue forth anathemas against Nestorius and his doctrine,
and the quarrel rose to such a pitch, that it was necessary
to convene a general council at Ephesus, in order to put
an end to it : where some bishops of the East, who were
assembled on the part of Nestorius, gave Cyril so warm an
opposition, that they got him deprived of his bishopric, and
thrown into prison. But he was soon set at liberty and re-
stored, and gained a complete victory over Nestorius, who
was deposed from his see of Constantinople in the year 43 1 .
Cyril returned to Alexandria, where he died in the year 444.
His works are voluminous, and have been often printed.
They consist of the commentaries upon the Pentateuch,
called " Glaphyra, &c." Isaiah, the 12 lesser prophets,
and St. John's gospel; 17 books on the adoration and
worship of God in spirit and truth, composed in form of a
dialogue ; dialogues on the holy and consubstantial tri-
nity, and on the incarnation ; a discourse of the orthodox
faith ; homilies, letters, and apologies. John Aubert, ca-
non of Laon, published the best edition in Greek and Latin,
1638, 6 vols, fol. which are bound in seven, because vol.
5th consists of two parts. St. Cyril's style is diffuse and
singular ; his writings contain much subtilty, metaphysical
reasoning, and all the niceties of logic. St. Isidore, of
Pelusium, accuses him of acting with too much zeal and
heat during the disputes in which he was engaged ; but
the catholic writers think that he atoned for that fault by
his piety and innocent life.'
CYRIL LUCAR, a famous patriarch of Alexandria, af-
terwards of Constantinople, was born November 12, 1572,
in the island of Candia. He studied at Venice and Padua,
and was pupil to the celebrated Margunius, bishop of Cy-
thera. Cyril went afterwards into Germany, embraced the
doctrine of the reformed religion, and attempted to intro-
duce it into Greece ; but the Greeks opposed it, and ha
wrote a confession of faith, in which he defended his prin-
ciples. Having been archimandrite, he was raised to the
patriarchate of Alexandria, and, some time after, elected
to that of Constantinople, 1621; but, continuing firm in
his connections with the protestants, he was deposed, and
confined in the island of Rhodes. Some time after, how-
ever, he was restored to his dignity, at the solicitation of
» Care. — Dupin. — Moreri.
CYRIL. 197
the English ambassador; but in 1638 he was carried from
Constantinople and put to death near the Black Sea, by
order of the grand signior, in the most cruel mann-er. He
had a mind much superior to the slavish condition of his
country, and laboured to promote the interests of genuine
Christianity, amidst much opposition and danger. He had
collected a very excellent library, rich in Greek MSS. a
specimen of which, the celebrated Codex Alexandrinus,
one of the most ancient and valuable manuscripts in the
world, he presented to king Charles I. by his ambassador,
sir Thomas Roe. The fate of his other MSS. was pecu-
liarly lamented. In order to secure them, the Dutch re-
sident at Constantinople sent them by a ship bound for
Holland, which was wrecked in sight of land, and all her
cargo lost. '
CYRILLO, Dominic. See CIRILLO.
» Moreri. — Diet. Hist. — Pocock's Works and Life by Twells,. and '.' CoUec-
taaeade Cyrilio Lucario," by 3i»itU# Lond. 1707, 8vo.
( 1S8 )
D.
D'aCHERI. See ACHERI.
DACIER (Andrew), a French critic and philologer,
was born of protestant parents at Castres in Upper Lan-
guedoc April 6, 1651, and began to be educated in the
college there ; but, when by a decree of the council the
direction of it was given, in 1664, to the Jesuits alone,
his father sent him to the university of Puylaurens, and
afterwards to that of Sauniur, that he might finish his clas-
sical studies under Tannegui le Fevre, or Tanaquil Faber.
This eminent scholar was so pleased with Dacier's inclina-
tion for learning, that he kept him alone in his house, after
he had dismissed the rest of the pupils; and here he con-
ceived that affection for le Fevre's celebrated daughter,
which ended at length in marriage. On le Fevre's death
in 1672, Dacier returned to his father; and after some
time went to Paris, in order to gain a settlement, and cul-
tivate the acquaintance a,nd friendship of the learned : in
the former of these objects he did not at first succeed; but
on a second visit to Paris, he procured an introduction to
the duke of Montausier, governor to the dauphin, who put
him on the list of the commentators for the use of the dau-
phin, and engaged him in the edition of Pompeius Festus,
and Marcus Verrius Flaccus. This he published at Paris,
3681, in 4to; and it was again published at Amsterdam,
1699, in 4to, which edition is preferable to that of Paris,
because there are added to it the entire notes of Joseph
Scaliger, Fulvius Ursinns, and Anthony Augustinus, and
the new fragments of Festus. His Horace, with a French
translation, and notes critical and historical, came out at
Paris, 1681, in 10 vols. !2mo, and has often been printed
since. The best edition of this work is that of Amsterdam,
1726, consisting of the same number of volumes in the
same size. Another edition was printed at Amsterdam in
8 vols, 12mo, to which were added the translation and
notes of father Sanadon, published at Paris, 1728, in 2 vols,
4to, Mr. John Masson, a refugee minister in Englaud|
D A C I E R. 195
made several animadversions upon Dacier's notes on Ho-
race, in his life of that poet, prnited at Leyden in 1708 ;
which occasioned Dacier to publish new explications upon
the works of Horace, with an answer to the criticisms of
Mr, Masson, in which he treats Masson's book with great
contempt; and, speaking of verbal criticism, styles it
" the last effort of reflection and judgment." These were
afterwards added to Sanadon's edition of Dacier's Horace.
The next specimen of his learning was in the edition he
gave of the twelfth book of the anagogical contemplations
of St. Anastasius, monk of mount Sinai, upon the creation
of the world, now first published, together with notes and
a Latin translation, London, 1682, 4to.
In 1683 Dacier married mademoiselle le Fevre ; and in
1685 abjured with his lady the protestant religion. His
marriage, which was styled " the union of Greek and La-
tin," added considerably to his felicity, and procured him
an able assistant in his studies and publications. In 1691
he was assisted by madame Dacier in a French translation
of the moral reflections of the emperor Marcus Antoninus,
with notes, in 2 vols. 12mo. In 1692 he published Aris-
totle's Poetics, translated into French, with critical re-
marks, in 4to. This work was reprinted in Holland in
12mo; and some have considered it as Dacier's master-
piece. In 1G93 he published a French translation of the
Oedipus ami Electra of Sophocles, in 12mo ; but not with
the same success as the Poetics just mentioned. We have
already noticetl six publications of Dacier : the rest shall
now follow in order ; for the life of this learned man, like
that of most others, is little more than a history of his
works. He published, 7. Plutarch's Lives, translated into
French, with notes, Paris, 1694, vol, I. Svo. This essay,
which contains oidy five lives, is the beginning of a work,
which he afterwards finished, 8. The works of Hippo-
crates, translated into French, with notes, and compared
with the manuscripts in the king's library, Paris, 1697,
2 vols. 12mo. The Journal des S^avans speaks well of
this version. 9. The works of Plato, translated into French,
with notes, and the life of that j)hilosopher, with an ac-
count of the principal doctrines of his philosophy, 1699,
2 vols. 12mo. These are only some of Plato's pieces.
10. The lite of Pythagoras, his Symbols, and Golden Verses,
the life of Hierocles, and his Commentary upon the Golden
A^erses, 1706, 2 vols. 12mo.
200 D A C I E R.
In 1695, Dacier had succeeded Felibien in the academy
of inscriptions, and Francis de Hariay, archbishop of Paris,
in the French academy. In 1701 a new regulation was
made-in the academy of inscriptions, by which every mem-
ber was obhged to undertake some useful work suitable to
his genius and course of studies : and, in conformity to
this order, Dacier undertook the above translation of the
life of Pythagoras, &c. 11. The manual of Epictetus,
with five treatises of Simplicius upou important subjects,
relating to morality and religion, translated into French^
with notes, 1715, 2 vols. I2mo. The authors of the " Eu-
rope S9avante of Jan. 1718," having criticised the speci-
men he had given of his translation of Plutarch's Lives, he
printed, 12. An Answer to them, and inserted it in the
Journal des S^avans of the 25th of June and the 11th of
July 1718. 13. Plutarch's Lives of illustrious men, re-
vised by the MSS. and translated into French, with notes
historical and critical, and the supplement of those com-
parisons which are lost. To which are added, those heads
which could be found, and a general index of matters con-
tained in the work, Paris, 1721, 8 vols. 4to ; Amsterdam,
1723, 9 vols. 8vo. This work was received with applause,
and supposed to be well executed ; yet not so, say the au-
thors of the Bibliotheque Fran^oise, as to make the world
at once forget the translation of Amyot, obsolete as it is.
Dacier published some other things of a lesser kind, as,
14. A Speech made in the French academy, on his admis-
sion. 15. Answers, which he made, as director of the
academy, to the speech of M. Cousin in 1697, and to that
of M. de Boze in 1715, both inserted in the collections of
the French academy. 16. A dissertation upon the origin
of Satire, inserted in the second volume of the memoirs of
the academy of Belles Lettres in 1717. 17. Notes upon
Longinus. Boileau, in the preface to his translation of
Longinus, styles these notes very learned ; and says, that
*' the author of them is not only a man of very extensive
learning, and an excellent critic, but likewise a gentleman
of singular politeness ; which is so much the more valuable,
as it seldom attends great learning." Boileau has added
them to his own notes upon Longinus ; and they are
printed in all the editions of his works. Dacier wrote also
a commentary upon Theocritus, which he mentions in his
notes upon Horace, ode xxix ; and a short treatise upon
religion, containing the reasons which brought him over to
D A C I E R. 201
the church of Rome : but these two works were never
printed.
He had a share too in the medallic history of Lewis XIV. ;
and, when it was finished, was chosen to present it to his
majesty ; who, being informed of the pains which Dacier
had taken in it, settled upon him a pension of 2000 Hvres ;
and about the same time appointed him keeper of the
books of the king's closet in the Louvre. In 1713 he was
made perpetual secretary of the French academy. In
1717 he obtained a grant in reversion of 10,000 crowns
upon his place of keeper of the books of the king's closet ;
and when this post was united to that of library-keeper to
the king, in 1720, he was not only continued in the privi-
leges of his place during lite, but the reversion of it was
granted to his wife ; a favour, of which there had never
been an instance before. But her death happening first,
rendered this grant, so honourable to her, ineffectuak
Great as Dacier's grief was for the loss of an helpmate so
like himself, it did not prevent him from seeking out ano-
ther ; and he had actually been inarried at a very advanced
period of life, had he not died almost suddenly on Sept.
18, 1722, of an ulcer in the throat, which he did not
think at all dangerous, since that very evening he was
present at the academy. He was 7 1 years of age ; short
of stature, and of a long and meagre visage. He was a
great promoter of virtue and learning ; and if he was some-
what partial to the ancients, in the famous controversy on
the comparative merits of the ancients and moderns, yet
this may be pardoned in one who had so assiduously studied
their works. It would be less easy to excuse his occasional
boldness as a critic, and his intemperance as a disputant.
In his own time, however, he enjoyed deserved reputation.
He chose none but useful subjects ; devoted his labours to
works only of importance ; and ekiriched the French lan-
guage with those remains of wise antiquity, which are most
advantageous to the morals of mankind. He could vfit
make his countrymen classical, but he did what he could
to give them a relish for the ancients. This, however,
although an useful attempt in his day, has narrowed the
bounds of his fame, and except in his Aristotle's Poetics,
and some parts of his Horace, modern critics seem disin-
clined to acknowledge his taste and critical acumen. *
* Gen. Diet. — Moreri. — Niceron, vol. Ill, — Baillet Jugemens. — MorhoffPo-
Jyhist. — Saxii Onomasticon.
202 D A C I E R.
DACIER (Anne), the learned wife of the preceding,
was born at Saiimur, about the end of 1651. She was only
eleven years old when her father resolved to give her a
learned education ; which is said to have been owing to the
following circumstance, that while he was teaching one of
his sons the rudiments of grammar, in the same room where
mademoiselle le Fevre was employed with her needle, she,
with every appearance of unconcern, now and then supplied
her brother with answers to questions that puzzled him. This
induced her father to give her a regular course of lessons,
and educate her as a scholar, in which character she soon
excelled the youths under his care, and became her father's
associate in some of his publications. We are told that
when she had learned Latin enough to read Phaedrus and
Terence, he began to instruct her in the Greek, which
she was so much pleased with, that in a short time she was
capable of reading Anacreon, Callimachus, Homer, and
the Greek Tragic Poets. As she read them, she shewed
so much taste of the beauties of those admirable writers,
that all the fatigue of her father in his professorship was
softened by the pleasure which he found in teaching her.
To divert her in her more serious studies, he taught her
the Italian language, and read over with her several poets
of that nation, and particularly Tasso, in the perusal of
whom she very acutely remarked the difference between
that poet and Virgil and Homer. She sometimes took the
liberty of disputing with her father, particularly, on one
occasion, respecting Vaugelas's translation of Quintus
Curtius. Her father was charmed with it, but mademoi-
selle le Fevre ventured to point out some negligences of
style, errors in language, and passages ill translated ; and
he was frequently obliged to own himself of the same opi-
nion with her. These little contests, however, gave him
great satisfaction, and he was extremely surprized to
find so delicate a taste, and so uncommon a penetration,
in so young a person.
In 1673, the year after her father died, she went to
Paris, and was tiieii engaged in an edition of Callimachus,
which she published in 1674, in 4to. Some sheets of that
work having been shewn to Huetius, preceptor to the dau-
phin, and other learned men at court, a proposal was made
to her of preparing some Latin authors for the use of the
dauphin ; which, though she rejected at first, she at last
D A C I E R. 203
Imdertook, and published an edition of Florus in 1674, in
4to. Her reputation being now spread over all Europe,
Christina of Sweden ordered count Coningsmark lo make
her a compliment in her name ; upon whicli mademoiselle
le Fevre sent the queen a Latin letter with her edition of
Florus. Her majesty wrote her an obliging answer ; and
not long after wrote her another letter, to persuade her to
quit the proiestant religion, and inade her considerable
otfers to settle her at court. This, however, she declined,
and proceeded in the task she had undertaken, of pub-
lishing authors for the use of the dauphin, the next of
which was *' Sextus Aurelius Victor," Paris, 1681, 4to ;
in which same year also she published a French translation
of the poems of Anacreon and Sappho with notes, which
met with great applause ; so great, as to make Boileau de-
clare, that it ought to deter any person from attempting
to translate those poems into verse. She published, for
the use of the dauphin, Eutropius, Paris, 1683, 4to, which
was afterwards printed at Oxford, 1696, 8vo ; and Dictys
Cretensis & Dares Phrygius, Paris, 1684, 4to, which was
afterwards printed, cum notis variorum, at Amst. 1702, 8vo.
She had also published French translations of the Amphi-
tryo, Epidicus, and fludens, comedies of Plautus, Paris,
1683, 3 vols. 12mo, and of the Plutus and Clouds of
Aristophanes, 1684, 12mo, with notes, and an examen of
all these plays according to the rules of the theatre. She
was so charmed with the Clouds of Aristophanes, it seems,
that, as we learn from herself, she had read it over 200
times with pleasure.
In the midst of all these various publications, so close to
each other, she married Dacier, with whom she had been
brought up in her father's house from her earliest years.
This happened, as we have already observed in our ac-
count of that gentleman, in 1683 ; though some have con-
troverted not only the date, but even the marriage itself;
and have surmised that she was previously married to one
John Lesnier, a bookseller of her father's, and that she
ran away from him for the sake of Dacier, with whom she.
Mas never married in any regular way. But it is hardly-
possible to conceive, that so extraordinary a circumstance
in the history of this celebrated lady must not, if it were
true, have been notorious and incontested. We are there-
fore apt to admit father Niceron's solution of this difficulty;
^'bo observes, upon this occasion, that " nothing is more
204 D A C I E R.
common than for a person, who abandons any party, to be
exposed to the calumies of those whom they have quitted,'*
and to suffer by them. Madame Dacier, soon after her
marriage, declared to the duke of Montausier and the bi-
shop of Meaux, who had been her friends, a design of re-
conciling herself to the church of Rome ; but as M. Dacier
was not yet convinced of the reasonableness of such a
change, they thought proper to retire to Castres in 1684,
in order to examine the controversy between the protes-
tants and papists. They at last determined in favour of
the latter; and, as already noticed, made their public ab-
juration in Sept. 1685. This, in the opinion of her catholic
admirers, might probably occasion the above-mentioned
rumour, so much to the disadvantage of madame Dacier,
and for which there was probably very little foundation.
After they had become catholics, however, the duke of
Montausier and the bishop of Meaux recommended them
at court ; and the king settled a pension of 1500 iivres
' upon M. Dacier, and another of 500 upon his lady. The
patent was expedited in November; and, upon the advice'
which they received of it, they returned to Paris, where
they resumed their studies ; but before proceeding in our
account of madame Dacier's publications, it is necessary
to do justice to the liberality of her patron the duke de
Montausier. W'e are informed, that in 1682 this lady
having dedicated a book to the king of France, she could
not find any person at court, who would venture to intro-
duce her to his majesty, in order to present it, because
she was at that time a protestant. The duke of Montau-
sier, being informed of this, offered his service to introduce
her to the king, and taking her in his coach, presented
her and her book to his majesty ; who told him with an air
of resentment, that he acted wrong in supporting persons
of that lady's religion ; and that for his ])art he would for-
bid his name to be prefixed to any book written by Hugue-
nots ; for which purpose he would give orders to seize all
the copies of mademoiselle le Fevre's book. The duke
answered with that freedom with which he always spoke
to the king, and in which no person else would presume to
follow him : " Is it thus, sir, that you favour polite lite-
rature ? I declare to you frankly, a king ought not to be
a bigot." He added then, that he would thank the lady
in his majesty's jianie, and make her a present of an hun-
dred pistoles; and that he would leave it to the king to
pay him, or not pay him ; and he did as he had said.
D A C I E R. 20i
In 1688 she published a French translation of Terence's
comedies, with notes, in 8 vols. 12 mo. She is said to
Lave risen at live o'clock in the morning, during a very
sharp winter, and to have dispatched four of the comedies;
but, upon looking them over some months after, to have
flung them into the fire, being much dissatisfied with them,
and to have begun the translation again. She brought the
work then to the highest perfection ; and, in the opinion
of the Frencii critics, even reached the graces and noble
simplicity of the original. It was a circumstance greatly
to her honour, that, having taken the liberty to change the
scenes and acts, her disposition of them was afterwards
confirmed by an excellent MS. in the king of France's
library. Tlie best and most finished edition of this univer-
sally-admired performance, is that of 1717; which, how-
ever, was greatly improved afterwards, by adopting the
emendations in Bentley's edition. She had a hand in the
translation of Marcus Antoninus, which her husband pub-
lished in 1691, and likewise in the specimen of a transla-
tion of Plutarch's Lives, which he published three years
after; but being now intent on her translation of Homer,
she left her husband to finish that of Plutarch. lu 1711
appeared her Homer, translated into French, with notes,
in 3 vols. 12mo; and the translation is reckoned elegant
and faithful. In 1714 she published the Causes of the Cor-
ruption of Taste. This treatise was written against M. de
la Motte, who, in the preface to his Iliad, had declared
very little esteem for that poem. Madame Dacier, shocked
with the liberty he had taken with her favourite author,
immediately began this defence of him, in which she did
not treat La Motte with the greatest civility. In 1716 she
published a defence of Homer, against the apology of
father Ilardouin, or, a sequel of the causes of the corrup-
tion of Taste : in which she attempts to shew, that father
Hardouin, in endeavouring to apologize for Homer, has
done him a greater injury than ever he received from his
most declared enemies. Besides these two pieces, she had
prepared a third against La Motte ; hut suppressed it, after
M. de Vallincourt had procured a reconciliation beiweea
them. The same year also she published the Odyssey of
Homer, translated from the Greek, with notes, in 3 vols.
12mo, and this, as far as we can find, was her last appear-
ance as an author. She was in a very infirm state of
health the last two years of her life ; and died, after a very
206 D A C I E R.
painful sickness, Aug. 17, 1720, being 69 years of age.
She bad two daughters and a son, of whose education she
took the strictest care; but the son died young : one of
her daughters became a nun ; and the otlier, who is said
to have had united in her all the virtues and accomplish-
ments of her sex, died at 1 8 years of age. Her mother
has said high things of her, in the preface to her transla-
tion of the Iliad.
Madame Dacier was a lady of great virtue as well as
learning. She was remarkable for firmness, generosity,
good nature, and piety. The causes of her change of re-
ligion are not well explained, but she appears to have
been at least sincere. Her modesty was so great, that she
never sjjoke of subjects of literature ; and it was with some
difficulty that she could at any time be led to do it. There
is an anecdote related of her, which her countrymen say
sets this modesty in a very strong light, although others
may think the proof equivocal. It is cui^tomary with the
scholars in the northern parts of Europe, who visit, when
they travel, the learned in other countries, to carry with
them a book, in which they desire such persons to write
their names, with some sentence or other. A learned
German paid a visit to madame Dacier, and requested her to
write her name and sentence in his book. She seeins: in
it the names of the greatest scholars in Europe, told him,
that she should be ashamed to put her name among those
of so many illustrious persons ; and that such presumption
would by no means become her. The gentleman insisting
upon it, she was at last prevailed upon ; and taking her
pen, wrote her name with this verse of Sophocles, Tvvai^p
h a-iyn (p'epti ko(T(/.ov, that is, " Silence is the ornament of the
female sex." When likewise she was solicited to publish
a translation of some books of scripture, with remarks
upon them, she always answered, that " a woman ought
to read, and meditate upon the scriptures, and regu-
late her conduct by then), and to keep silence, agree-
ably to the command of St. Paul." Among her other lite-
rary honours, the academy of llicovrati at Padua chose her
one of their body in 1684.'
DAHL (Michael), a painter, was born at Stockholm
in 1656, and came to London at an early age, being intro-
duced into this country by an English merchant, but he
afterwards travelled to Paris, and resided there some time.
1 Gen. Diet. — Niceron, vol. III.— >Saxii Onomagticon,
D A H L. 207
He then visited Italy, where he painted, amongst others,
the portrait of queen Christina of Sweden, In 1G88 he
returned to England, where he acquired very considerable
reputation as a portrait painter, and was no contemptible
rival of sir Godfrey Kneller, with whom he lived in habits
of friendship. He died in London in 1743 at the advanced
ao-e of 87 years. His portraits of Addison, queen Anne,
prince George of Denmark, the duke of Marlborough, and
the duke of Ormond, have been engraved.*
DAILLE (John), a minister of the church of Paris, and
one of the ablest advocates the protestants ever had, was
born at Chatelleraut, Jan 6, 1594; but carried soon after
to Poitiers, where his father usually lived, on account of
the office which he bore of receiver of the deposits there.
His father designed him for business, and proposed to
leave him his office ; but his strong attachment to books
made him prefer a literary education, and when his son had
attained his eleventh year, he sent him to S. Maixent in
Poitou, to learn the first rudiments of learning. He con-
tinued his studies at Poitiers, Chatelleraut, and Saumur;
and, having finished his classical course in the last of those
towns, he entered on logic at Poitiers, at the age of six-
teen, and finished his course of philosophy at Saumur
under the celebrated Mark Duncan, He began his theo-
logical studies at Saumur in 1612; which, says his son,
was indisputably one of the most fortunate years in his
whole life, as in October of it, he was admitted into the
family of the illustrious mons. du Plessis Mornay, who did
him the honour to appoint him tutor to two of his grand-
sons. Here, though he discharged the trust he had under-
taken very well, yet it is said that he received more in-
struction from the grandfather than he communicated to the
grandsons. Mornay was extremely pleased with him, fre-
quently read with him, and concealed from him nothing of
whatever he knew ; so that some have been ready to im-
pute the great figure Mr, Daille afterwards made, to the
assistance he received here; and it is but reasonable to
suppose, that Mornay's advice and instructions contributed
not a little to it.
Daille, having lived seven years with so excellent a
master, set out on his travels with his pupils in the autumn
of 1619, and went to Geneva; and from thence through
' Walpole's Anecdotes.
208 D A I L L E.
Piedmont and Lombardy to Venice, where they spent the
winter. During their abode in Italy, a melancholy affair
happened, whicli perplexed him not a little. One of his
pupils fell sick at Mantua ; and he removed him with all
speed to Padua, where those of the protestant religion
have more liberty, but here he died ; and the difficulty
was, to avoid the observation of the inquisitors, and re-
move the corpse to France, to the burial-place of his an-
cestors. After much consideration, no more eligible plan
presented itself than to send him under the disguise of a
bale of merchandize goods, or a cargo of books ; and in this
manner the corpse was conveyed to France, under the
care of two of his servants ; not, however, without the ne-
cessary safe-conduct and passports, which were procured
for him from the republic by the celebrated father Paul.
He then continued his travels with his other pupil, visiting
Switzerland, Germany, Flanders, Holland, England ; and
returned to France towards the end of 1621. The son re-
lates, that he had often heard his father regret those two
years of travelling, which he reckoned as lost, because he
could have spent them to better purpose in his closet ;
and, it seems, he would have regretted them still more, if
he had not enjoyed the privilege at Venice of a familiar
acquaintance with father Paul, the only fruit which he
said he had reaped from that journey. — M. du Plessis,
with whom that father corresponded by letters, had recom-
mended to him in a very particular manner both his grand-
sons and their governor; so that M. Daille was immedi-
ately admitted into his confidence, and there passed not a
day without his enjoying some hours discourse with him.
The good father even conceived such an affection for M.
Daille, that he used his utmost endeavours with a French
physician of the protestant religion, and one of his inti-
mate friends, to prevail with him to stay at Venice. This
circumstance of Daille's life, among many others, has been
thought no inconsiderable proof, that father Paul concealed,
under the habit of a monk, a temper wholly devoted to
protestantism and its professors.
Daille was received minister in 1623, and first exercised
his office in the family of du Plessis Mornay : but this did
not last long ; for that lord fell sick a little after, and died
the same year, in the arms of the new pastor. Daille spent
the following year in digesting some papers of his, which
were afterwards published in two volumes, under the title
D A I L L E. 20y
of "Memoirs." In 1625 he was appointed minister of
the church of Savunur ; and the year after removed to that
of Paris. Here he spe-^t the rest of his life, and diiVused
great liglit over the whole body, as well by his sermons, as
by his books of controversy. In 1628 he wrote his cele-
brated book, " Ue I'usage des Peres," or, " Of the Use
of the Fathers*;" but, on account of some troubles which
seemed to be coming upon the protestants in France, it
was not published till 1631. Bayle has pronounced this
work a master- piece ; but it has been attacked with great
severity by some, as tending to lessen the just respect due
to the fathers, and to the views of religious opinions which
tiiey exhil)it, and which are at least important in point of
historical evidence. On the other hand, some eminent
scholars, and orthodox chuixhmen in England have ac-
knowledged its high worth and merit; and so early as 1651
an English translation of it was published by the learned
Thomas ISmith, B. D. fellow of Christ's college in Cam-
bridge. 7\n advertisement is prefixed to it, from which we
transcribe a passage or two, as illustrating the translator's
opinion and views of the work: "The translation of this
tract," says Mr. Smith, " hath been often attempted, and
oftener desired by many noble personages of this and
other nations : among others by sir Lucius Cary late lord
viscount Palkland, who, with his dear friend Mr. Chilling-
worth, made very much use of it in all their writings against
the Romanists. But the papers of that learned nobleman,
wherein this trans!;ition was half finished, were long since
involved in the common loss. Those few, which have
escaped it, and the press, make a very honourable men-
tion of this monsieur, whose acquaintance the said lord
was wont to say, was worth a voyage to Paris. In page 203
of his Reply, he hath these words: * This observation of
mine hath been confirmed by consideration of what hath
been so temperately, learnedly, and judiciously written by
M. Daill6, our protestant Perron.' — I shall add but one
lord's testimony more, namely, the lord George Digby's,
in his late Letters concerning Religion, in these words,
p. 27, 28: 'The reasons prevalent with me, whereon an
enquiring and judicious person should be obliged to rely
and acquiesce, are so amply and so learnedly set down by
* Dr. Fleetwood, bishop of Ely, they were of no use at alt." Richard*
said of this book, that " he thought the soniaiia, p. 30o.
author had pretty sufficiently proved
Vol. XI. P
210 D A I L L E.
M. Daillc in his * Emploi des Peres,' that I tliink little,
which is material and weighty, can be said on this subject,
that his rare and piercing observation hath not anticipated.'
And for myself, 1 must ingenuously profess, that it was the
reading of this rational book, which hrst convinced me
that my study in the French language was not ill employed;
which hath also enabled me to commend this to the
world, as faithfully translated l)y a judicious hand." Mr.
Mettayer, who was minister of St. Quintin, published a
Latin translation of this work 3 which translation was re-
vised and augmented with new observations, by Daille
himself, and was printed at Geneva in 16.5G.
In 163.3 he published another work of general concern,
entitled *' L'Apologie de nos Eglises," or, " An Apology
for the reformed Churches ;" in which he vindicates, with
much learning and argument, their separation from the
church of Rome, from the imputation of schism, which
was usually brought against them. This work was also
translated into English by Mr. Smith, in 1658; as it was
into Latin the same year by Daille himself, and printed at
Amsterdcim in Svo. It was much censured by the clergy
of France, as soon as it was published, and some were
employed to write against it. Daille wrote two or three
little pieces in defence of it, which were afterwards print-
ed with it in the Latin edition. That Daillci was a very
"voluminous writer, will not seem strange, when it is con-
sidered that he liveil long, was very laborious, and enjoyed
a good state of health. He was endued with the qualitica-
tions of a writer in a most eminent degree ; and had this
singular advantage, that his understanding was not im-
paired with age : for it is observable, that there is no less
strength and fire in his two volumes " De objecto cultfts
religiosi," the first of which was published when he was 70
years old, than in any of his earlier works.
He assisted at the national synod, which vvas held at
Alen^on in 1637 : and his authority and advice contributed
much to quiet the disputes, which were then warmly agi-
tated among the protestants concerning iniivcrsal grace.
He declared strenuously for universal grace ; and after-
wards published at Amsterdam, in 165.5, a Latin work
against Frederic Spanheim, the divinity jjrofessor at Ley-
den, entitled " An apology for the synods of Alencon and
Charenton." This work rekindled the war among tiie pro-
testant divines ; yet Daillc endeavoured to clear himself,
D A I L L E. 211
by saying, that his book had been published vvitbont his
kno\vled<»-c. Ntnertheless, lie answered the celebrated
Samuel des Mart'ts, professor of Groningeu, which pro-
duced a sliort, but very warm contest between them, in
which Daiile's spirit of controversy has not been approved
even l)y his friends. He died at Paris, April 15, 1670,
having never experienced tliroughout his life any illness,
except that in 1 (),50 he was suddenly seized with a lethargic
or apopletic disoriler, in which he lay 10 or 11 days, ap-
parently without a possibility of recovering. He left a
high reputation behind him ; and the protestants used to-
say in France, that " they had no better writer since Calviti
than M. Daillc." In 1720, M. Kngelschall, a Roman
catholic clergyman at Dresden, published proposals fur a
complete edition of Daiile's works, for which it is probable
lie had no encouragement, as we have not been able to lind
such a publication in any catalogue ; but his proposals,
which are drawn up with great candour, will at least enable
us to give a more correct list of Daiile's works, with the
best editions. 1. " De Usu Patrum," Geneva, 1056. 2.
*' Apologia ecclesiarum reformatarum," Amst. 3. *' Fides
ex S. Scripturis demonstrata," Gen. IGGO. 4. " Exameii
SententiiTB Tbeoph. Bracheti Milleterii super conciliatione
Controversiaruuj religionis," Paris, 1637. 5. " De Patrum
fide circa imagines," Leyden, 1642. 6. " De pcenis et
satisfactionibus humanis," Amst. 1649. 7. " Pseudepi-
grapha Apostolica de octo libris constitutionum Aposto-
licarum," Harderw. 1653. 8. " De jcjuniis et quadra-
gesima," Daventer, 1654. 9.. " Pro duabus Synodis, Alen-
Kon et Carenton. Apologia," vVmst. 1655. 10. <' De con-
firmatione et cxtrcma uuctione," Genev. 1659. li. " De
confessione auriculari," Genev. 1661. 12. " Adversus
Latinorum traditionem de cultus religiosi objecto, dispu-
tatio," Gen. 1661. 13. " De Scriptis, qua? sub Dionysii
Areopagii et Igiiatii nominibus circnmferunuir," Gen. 1666.
14. " De cultibus Latinorum religiosis Libri Novem,"
Gen. 1671. In all those he has been thought to be very
perspicuous, both with regard to the expression, anil to
the disposition of his subject. He was reproached by one
of his adversaries with stealina: several ihino-s frou) Dr.
Davenant, m his " Exposition of the Epistle to the Colos-
sians ;" bnt he answered the charge.
He married in the Lower Poitou, in May 1625 ; and his
wife died the 3 1st of that month, 1631, leaving him only
? 2
212 D A I L L E.
one son, born in the house of the Dutch ambassador, Oct.
31, 162S. She had taken refuge there, because the pro-
testants were afraid lest the news of the taking of Rochelle
might excite popular tumults. This only son, whose name
was Hadrian Daille, was received a minister in 1633. He
had continued his theoloa:ical studies with his father for
several vears, when the consistory of Rochelle invited him
thither. Five years after, that is, in 1658, he was chosen
a minister of Paris, and became a collea2;ue with his father.
He was alive at the revocation of the edict of Nainz, and,
then retiring to Switzerland, died at Zurich in May 1690.
AW his MSS. among: which were several works of his fa-
ther's, were carried to the public library. He wrote that
abridgement of his father's life, from which we have chiefly
collected the materials of this article. '
DAIRVAL. See BAUDELOT.
DAKINS (William), one of the translators of the Bible,
of whose family history we have no account, was educated
at \V'estminster school, whence beinii removed to Cam-
bridge, he was admitted of Trinity college May 8, 15S7 ;
chosen junior fellow there Oct. 3, 1593, and senior fellow
March 16th following. In 1601 he took the degree of
B. D. and was sworn Greek lecturer of that college (an
annual office) Oct. 2, 1602. In July 1604 he was chosen
professor of divinity in Gresham college, to which he was
recommended, in tlie most honourable terms, not only by
the vice-cliancellor and several heads of houses at Cam-
bridge, but also by some of the nobility, and even by king
James I. in a letter to the Gresham committee. His ma-
jesty's object seems to have been that Mr. Dakins should
not be without a suitable provision while employed on the
new translation of the Bible, undertaken by royal order,
and for a part of which important work Mr. Dakins was
considered as excellently qualified by his skill in the
Oriental lancruafjes. The translators beinsf divided into
six classes, two of which were to meet at \\'estnnnster,
two at Oxford, and two at Cambridge, Mr. Dakins was one
of those at Westminster, and his part was the Epistles of
St. Paul and the canonical Epistles. He did not, however,
live to see the work completed, as he died in Feb. 1607,
a few months after being chosen junior dean of Trinity
college. '
• NiceroH, vol. Ilf.— Gen. Diet. — Bibl. Germani/jue, »ol. II. — Biouni'i Cen-
Jura.^-Saxii Oaomast. » Ward'* Gnsham Frofessorj.
DALE. 213
DALE (Samuel), I\L D. an antiquary and botanist, was
originally an apothecary at Braintree in Essex, until about
1730, when he became a licentiate of the college of phy-
sicians, and a fellow of the royal society, according to
Pulteney, but his name does not appear in Dr. Thomson's
list. About the time above-mentioned. Dr. Dale is sup-
posed to have settled at Bocking, where he practised as a
physician until his decease June 6, 1739, in the eightieth
year of his age. He was buried in the dissenters' burying
ground at Bocking. His separate publications are, 1.
" Pharmacologia, seu Manuductio ad Materiam Medicam,"
1693, 8vo, republished in 1705, 1710, 8vo, and 1737, 4to, a
much improved edition. It was also four times printed
abroad. The first edition was one of the earliest rational
books on the subject, and the author attended so much to
subsequent publications and improvements, as to give his
last edition the importance of a new work. Scarcely in
any author, says Dr. Pulteney, is there a more copious
collection of synonyms, a circumstance which, indepen-
dent of much other intrinsic worth, will long continue the
use of the book with those who wish to pursue the history
of any article through all the former writers on the subject.
2. " The Antiquities of Harwich and Dover Court," 1730,
4to, originally written by Silas Taylor, gent, about the year
1676. Tliat part of this work which regards natural his-
tory is so copious and accurate as to render the book a real
acquisition to science. Dale was also the author of various
communications to the royal society, which were published
in the Philosophical Transactions. *
DALECHAMP (James), a learned French physician
and indefatigable botanist, was born at Caen in 1 5 1 3, studied
medicine and botany at Montpelier, was admitted doctor in
medicine in 1547, and died at Lyons, where he had long
practised physic, in 1588. He published several elaborate
translations, particularly of the fifteen books of Athenoeus
into Latin, in 1552, in 2 vols. fol. illustrated with notes
and figures ; and some of the works of Galen and Paul
Egineta into French. In 1556 he published a translation
of " Coelius Aurelianus de Morbis acutis ;" and in 1569,
" Chirurgie Fran^oise, avec plusieurs figures d'instrumens,'*
8vo, which has been several times reprinted. He princi-
pally followed the practice of Par^e, from whose work he
' Pulteney's Sketches of Botany.
21 !■ D A L E C H A M P.
borrowed the figures of the instruments ; but he has added
a translation into French of the seventh book of Paree, with
annotations, and some curious cases occurring in his own
practice. He was also the editor of an edition of Pliny
with notes, published in 1587. His first work, acc<rding
to Haller, was an 8vo edition of Rucllivis's Commentary on
Dioscorides, which appeared at Lyons in 1552, enriched
by Dalechamp with thirty small figures of plants, at that
time but little known. But his principal performance in
this branch was an universal history of plants, in Latin,
^vith above two thousand five hundred nooclen cuts, be-
sides repetitions, published after his death in two folio vo-
lumes. The publisher, Wdbam Rouille, seems to take
upon hiuiself the chief credit of collecting and arranging
the materials of this great work, though he allows tl)at
Dalechamp laid its first foundations. Haller says the latter
■was engaged in it for thirty years ; his aim being to collect
together all the botanical knowledge of his predecessors,
and enrich it with his own discoveries. He employed John
Bauhin, then a young man, and resident at Lyons, to as-
sist him ; but Baulnn lieing obliged on account of his
religion to leave France for Switzerland, hke many other
good and great men of that and the following century, the
work in question was undertaken by Des Moulins, and
soon afterwards Dalechamp died. It is often quoted by
the title of" Historia Lugdunensis," and hence the merits
of its original projector are overlooked, as well as the faults
arising from its mode of compilation, which are in many
instances so great as to render it useless. A French trans-
lation was published in 1615, and again in 1653. Besides
these Dalechatnp ]:)ublislicd, 1. " Carlius Aurelianus de
iiioibis chronicis," Loud. 1579, Svo ; and 2. An edition of
the works of the two Senecas, the orator and the philoso-
pher, with notes and various readings, Geneva, 1G2S, 2
vols. fol. '
DALEN (CoRNELiu.s v.\n), an eminent engraver, who
flourished about the year l6i-0, was a native of Holland ;
but under what master he learnt the art of engraving, is
uncertain. It is diflicult to form a proper judgment of his
merit; for sometimes his prints resemble those of Corne-
lius Vischer; of Lucas Vosterman ; of P. Pontius; of
> Miireri. — Ilillnr Tiibl. P.ot. — Freheri Tlicalrum. — Baillet Jugemene.—
KeeB':; Cyclopa.'dia, — i<axij Onouiast.
D A L E N. 21J
Bolswert ; and other masters. A set of antique statues
engraved by liini, are in a bold, freestyle, as if founded
upon that of Goltzius ; otliers a<ji,ain seem imitations of that
ol Krancis Poilly. In all these diH'erent manners he has
succeeded ; and tliey plaiidy manifest the great command
he had with his graver, for he worked with that instrument
only. He engraved a great variety of portraits, some of
which are very valnable, and form the best as well as the
largest part of his works. '
DA LIN (Olaus von), a learned Swede, who was born
at VVird)erga, in Holland, in 1708, deservedly obtained
the appellation of the fatlicr of Swedish poetry by two
poems written in that language; the one entitled "The
Liberty of Sweden," published in J 743; the other the
tragedy of " Brindiilda." He successively raised himself
to be preceptor to prince Gustavus, counsellor in ordinary
of the chancery, knight of the northern star, and at last to
the dignity of chancellor of the court. By command of
the king he engaged to compile a history of his own coun-
try from the earliest period to the present time, which he
accomplished in tl)ree volumes quarto ; and which was af-
terwards translated into the German language, Sweden is
indebted to him also for a great number of epistles, satires,
fables, thoughts, and some panegyrics on the members of'
the royal academy of sciences, of which he was a principal-
ornament : all these have been collected and printed in
6 vols. There is likewise by him a translation of the
president Montesquieu, on the Canses of the grandeur and
declension of the Romans. Von Dalin died in August
1763, leaving a reputation for literature, which his works
are thought to conhrm. *
DALLINGTON (Sir Robert), as Fuller informs us,
was born at Geddington, in the county of Northanipton,
and bred a bible-clerk in Corpus Christi college, Cam-
bridge; but \V'ood has u)ade him a Greek scholar in Pem-
broke-iiall. As a contirmation, however, of the former, '
he published " A Book of Epitaphs, made upon the death
of the right worshij)ful sir William Buttes, knt." in loSI),
which were chiefly composed by himself and the members
of Corpus. It appears that he was afterwards placed in a
school in Norfolk, where, duller says, he gained so much
nionev as enabled him to travel over France and It;ilv.
> Strutt. - Diet. Hist,
216 D A L L I N G T O N.
Concerning Italy, we have a specimen of his accurate ob-
servations in his " Survey of the Great Duke's State of
Tuscany in the year 1596," which was inscribed to hmi by
the publisher, Edward Blount, in 1605, 4to ; and in the
same year appeared his " Method of Travel, shewed by
taking a view of France as it stood in 159)5," 4to. In
the preface he says that he was at the last jubilee at Rome,
and that " this discourse was written long since, when the
now lord secretary was then lord ambassador, and intended
for the private use of an hon. gent." The second edition,
published in 1629, contains the clause of Gujcciardini de-
faced by the inquisition, consisting of sjxty-one pages.
After his return he became secretary to Francis earl of
llutland, then one of the |)rivy chamber to prince Charles,
and master of the Charter-house, where he introduced into
the school the custom of versifying on passages of the holy
scripture; about which time he had also ihe honour of
knighthood conferred upon him. He was incorpqrated
A.M. at Oxford in 1601, and published " Aphorismes,
Civil and Military ; amplified with authorities, and exem-
plified with history out of the first quaterne of Fr. Guic-
ciardini," Lond. 1615, fol. in which he is said to have
*' shown both wit and judgment." He died in the latter
end of the year 1637, upwards of seventy-six years old,
and was buried in the Charter-house chapel.
According to the records of the Charter-house, he was
appointed master July 9, 1624, when he was only in dea-
con's orders, which was through the recommendation " of
the most excellent prince of Wales." He is described as
a man " of good merit and deserte." The governors re-
solved at the same time that no future master should be
elected under forty years of age ; or who was not in holy
orders of priesthood two years before his election ; and
having not more than one living, and that within thirty
miles of London. Sir Robert had grown so very infirm in
1636, that the governors ordered three persons as his as-
sistants. '
DALMATIN (George), a very learned Lutheran divine
of the sixteenth century, of whose personal history little is
known, deserves notice as the translator of Luther's Ger-
man Bible into the Sclavonian, which language being
» Masters's Hist, of C. C. C.C. — Wood's AtU. vol. I.— Malcolm's LondiDium. —
Cole's MS Atheuae in Brit, Mus.
D A L M A T I N. 217
spoken in Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola, the states of
those countries came to a determination that this Bible
should be printed for their use. They first employed John
Manlius, a [)rinter of Lay bach, who was the first that
printed the Sclavonic in Roman letters: but while Manlius
was making his calculations of expence, &c. the archduke
Charles of Austria forbad him to print it. This appears to
have happened in 1 580. The states, however, only changed
their determination so far as to have it printed elsewhere,
and sent Dalmatin for that purpose to Gratz, where he was
to correct the press, after the coj)y had been carefully re-
vised at Laybach by him, in conjunction with other emi-
nent divines and Oriental scholars. But, finding that no
impression of this Bible would be permitted in the Austrian
dominions, the states sent, in April 1583, Dalmatin, and
another divine, Adam Bohoritsch, to Wittemberg, with a
recommendation to the elector of Saxony, and the work
being begun in May 1583, was finished Jan. 1, 1584. They
had agreed with Samuel Seelfisch, bookseller at Wittem-
berg, that he should print fifteen hundred copies, each
to contain two hundred and eighty sheets of the largest
paper, on a fine character, with wooden cuts ; for which
the states of Carniola were to pay after the rate of twenty-
florins for every bale of five hundred sheets. The expences
ot the impression of this Bible amounted to about eight
thousand fiorins : towards which the states of Styria gave a
thousand florins, those of Carinthia nine hundred, and the
evangelic states of Carniola six thousand one hundred.
These particulars may not be unacceptable to typographi-
cal students, as it is but seldom we have access to the his-
tory of early printing. Of Dalmatin we are only told that
he aiterwards was put in possession of the cure of St. Kha-
zaim, or St. Catiani, near Aurspergh, by Christopher, ba-
ron of Aurspergh, in 1585, who, when the popish party
banished Dalmatin in 1598, kept him concealed in his
house ; and a vault under the stable before the castle used
long to be shewn as the hole of the preacher." '
DALRYMPLE (Alkxander), an eminent hydrographer,
F. R. S. and F. S. A. was born July 24, 1737, at New
Hailes, near Edinburgh, the seat of his father sir James
Dalrymple, bart. of Hailes. His mother, lady Christian,
daughter of the earl of Haddington, a very amiable and
' Gen, Diet.— Le Long Bibl. Sacr.
218 D A L R Y M P L E.
accomplished woman, bore sixteen children, all of whom
Alexander, wlio was the seventh son, survived. He was
educated at tlie school of Haddington, nnder Mr. David
Youn"-; but as he left school before he was fourteen years
of age, and never was at the nniversity, his. schoUistic en-
dowments were very limitecL At school hfe'liad the credit
of being a good scholar ; and, after he left school, his
eldest brother was wont to make him translate, off hand,
some of the odes of Horace ; so that he was, for his years,
a tolerable proficient in Latin : but going al)road, entirely
his own master, before he was sixteen years of age, he
neglected his Latin ; and, as he says, never found so
much use for it as to induce him to take any pains to
recover it.
Sir James Dalrymple died in 1750; and the hon. gene-
ral St. Clair having married sir James's sister, a very sen-
sible and accomplished woman (the relict of sir John
Baird, bart.), in 1752, from his intimacy with alderman
Baker, then chairman of the East India company, general
St. Clair got Mr. Baker's promise to appoint his nephew,
IMr. Dalrymple, a writer in the company's service ; the
young man having conceived a strong desire of going to
the East Indies, by reading Nieuhofl's Vo3-agcs, and a
novel of that time, called Joe Thomson. He accordingly
left Scotland in the spring of 17.52, with his brother sir
David, who affectionately accompanied him to London.
He was put to Mr. Kinross's academy, at Forty-hill,
near Enfield, for some months antecedent to his appoint-
ment in the company's service. He tells us he was obliged
to Mr. Kinross for his great kindness and attention to him,
and received much jjood instruction for his conduct throuoh
life ; by which he greatly profited : but was too short a
time at that academy to learn much of what was the object
of sending him there, viz. writing and merchants' accounts;
which are, at least were at that time, the only (pialifica-
tions the East India company thought requisite in their
servants : and the absurdity of supposing a boy of sixteen
from an acad(;my competent to keep a set of merchants'
books not being considered, some demur was made to Mr.
Kinross's certificate of this part of Mr. Dalrymple's educa-
tion not being expressed in terms sufficiently direct; how-
ever, this was not insisted on.
On the 1st of November, 1752, he was appointed a
writer in the East India company's service, and on the
D A L li Y M P L E, 219
8th of November, stationed on the Madras establishment.
Alderman Baker ditiqualilied early the next year; so that
it was by a very aecicUMital contingonce that i\Jr. Dah'} ni])le
went to India, Ijis tamil}' havinjj,- no India connexions ; inure
jDarticuhirly as he wanted a few months of sixteen years of
age, which was tlie age reqnircd for a writer to l)e : and
his n)other lady Christian strongly objected to his father's
son even tacitly assenting to countenance what was untrue;
and she was not quite satisiied with being assured that it
was with alderman Baker's concurrence and approbation ;
it being urged, that the spirit of the regulation was to pre-
vent infants being introduced into the service as writers,
and not to preclude a person for the difference of a few
months in age. " This," says our author, " is the oidy
instance in wiiich Alexander Dalrymple is conscious of hav-
ing been accessary to cheating the company-, if it can be
so termed,'"
About the middle of December, he embarked at Graves-^
end on board the Suffolk Indiaman, commanded by captain
William Wilson, and the vessel sailed from the Downs
Dec. 25, 1752, and arrived at Madias on May 11. At
first Mr. Dairy mple was put under the store-keeper, but
was soon after removed to the secretary's office, and on
lord Pigot's being appointed governor, was noticed by his
lordship with great kindness, as well as by Mr. Orme, the
historian, then a member of council and accountant, who
contiiuied his friendship to him during the remainder of
Ijis life. While in the secretary's office, examining the
old records, to quality himself, by the knowledgi.' of them,
to fill the office of secretary, which he was in succession to
expect, he found the commerce of the eastern islands was
an object of great consideration with the company, and he
was inspired with an earnest desire to recover that impor-
tant object for this country.
A favourable o|)portnnity offered for putting this info
train : his old friend captain Wilson, who was appointed
by the East India company commodore of all tht ir ships
and vessels, and commander of the Pitt, of 50 guns, for
his good and gallant conduct, arrived in September 1758,
having on board sir William (then colonel) l)ra|)er, and
part of his regiment. 7'he Pitt was destineil for China.
Commodore Wilson, whose sagacity and maritime know-
ledge was equal to his courage, had reHected during tho
course of his voyage from England, in what manner his
220 D A L R y M P L E.
passage to China could be attained at that season ; and it
occurred to him, that the same principle by which ships
went to the Malabar coastand Persia from Madras in the south
west monsoon, was applicable in a passage to China, viz.
by crossing the line, and taking advantage of the contrary
monsoons that prevail at the same time in north and south
latitudes. Thus, as the ships from Madras stand to the south
east with the south west winds, till they get into the south
east trade in south latitude, and then stand westward, till
they are to windward of their intended port, when they
cross the line again into north latitude ; so commodore
Wilson reasoned, that the north-west winds would, in
south latitude, carry him far enough eastward to n)ake the
north-east wind a fair wind to China. Sir William Draper
countenancing his opinion, commodore Wilson, on his ar-
rival at Madras, mentioned the subject to Mr. Dalrymple,
and asked his sentiments ; which entirely concurring with
his own, and being confirmed by reference to Saris, &c.
who had performed the most essential part of the voyage,
though with a different object; commodore Wilson was
thereby induced to propose it to governor Pigot, who con-
sulted Mr. Dalrymple, and being convinced that it was
practicable, commodore Wilson performed tlie voyage
highly to the credit of our maritime reputation, and much
to the advantage of the company.
Circumstances occurred in the discussion of the propo-
sition made by commodore W^ilson, which induced Mr.
Dalrymple to propose, and governor Pigot to accede to,
his going in the Cuddalore schooner to the eastward, on a
voyage of general observation, although it had a particular
destination ; but as the secretaryship became vacant in
1759, lord Pigot, thinking that place a more beneficial
object, endeavoured to dissuade Mr. Dalrymple from the
vo3'age, but without success, as he remained warm in the
pursuit of an o!)ject of whose national iuaportance he had
long been convinced, and considered this voyage as a new
aera in his life.
As the Cuddalore went under the secret orders of the
governor, it was not thought proper to apply to the coun-
cil for the provision of such a cargo as was necessary ia
countries where there was no regular communication or
commerce ; and where even provisions could, probably,
only be purchased by barter ; a small cargo was j)ut on
board at the cxpencc of the goveriior, who permitted cap-
D A"L R Y M P L E. 221
tain Bal<er, the captain, to have a fourth concern. The
evening before Mr. Dalrymple embarked, governor Pigot
presented him witii an instrument, making iiim a present
of whatever profits might accrue from tlie three- fourths
concern. Having never insinuated such an intention, he
left no ground for mercenary imputation against Mr. Dal-
rymple, in undertaking the voyage, or against the gover-
nor himself for ordering it. In consequence of an offer
made by the hon. Thomas Howe, conuuander of that ship,
he first embarked in the Winchelsea, April 22, 1759, and
having joined the Cuddalore, captain George Baker, in
the strait of Malacca, whither that vessel had been dis-
patched a few (lays before the Winchelsea, Mr. Dalrymple
quitted tlie Winchelsea, and embarked on the Cuddalore
June 3, in the Strait of Sincapore.
It cannot be pretended to give a recital, however brief,
of the course of this voyage, of which Mr. Dalrynqiie did
not publish any connected journal, but it was in this
voyage the English visited Sooloo. Mr. Dalrymple con-
cluded a treaty with the sultan, and made a contract with
the principal persons, for a cargo to be brought on the
East India company's account, which the natives engaged
to receive at 100 per cent, profit, and to provide a cargo
for China, which they engaged should yield an equivalent
profit there. The principal person with whom this con-
tract was negociated, was Dato Bandahara, the head and
representative of the nobility ; for the Sooloo government
is a mixed monarchy, in which, though the principal no-
bility and orankv's meet in the national council to delibe-
rate, the authority is vested in a few officers, who are
hereditary, the Sultan, Dato Bandahara, who represents
the nobility, and Cranky Mallick, who represents the
people ; matters of government depending on the con-
currence of two of the states, of which the people must be
one.
The person then filling the hereditary office of Banda-
hara, was as conspicuous for the probity and exalted justice
of his character, as by his distinguished rank, of which,
whilst Mr. Dalryjiiple was at Sooloo, in 1761, an occasion
occurred for Bandahara to exert. There were at this time
two Chinese junks in Sooloo road; in the cargo of one of
them the sultan had an interest ; the other belonged en-
tirely to Chinese merchants of Amoy. The sultan, who
was very avaricious, in hopes of getting money from the
D A L R Y ]\I P L E.
Chinese, or thinking, perhaps, that it would be more ad-
vantageous for the sale of the cargo in which he was con-
cerned, laid an embargo on the other junk : Baudahara
and Oranky iMallick remonstrated with the sultan on the
impropriety of this behaviour to mercliants, but without
effect; upon wliich Bandahara, and Oranky Mallick, with
Pangleema iMihiham, a person of a military order, conso-
nant to ancient knighthood, went on board the China
junk, in which the sultan had an interest, and brought her
rudder on shore, iufornjino- the sultan that they would de-
tain the one if he obstructed the departure ot the other :
this well-timed interference had its due effect, antl both
junks proceeded without further molestation on their voyage
liume.
He returned to Madras from this eastern voyage, Jan.
2S, 1762. The company's administration approved of his
proceedings, and in March 1762, having resolved to send
on the company's account the cargo stipulated, employed
liiin in expediting the provision of that cargo. His ex-
pences in the voyage of almost three years, amounted to
G12/. which was repaid by the governor and council of
IVIadras, but he neither asked or received any pecuniary
advantage to himself. On the 1 0th of May, the London
packet was destined for the Sooloo voyage, and Mr. DaU
rymple was appointed captain. In the passage from Mad-
ras to Sooloo, he hrst visited Balambangan; and on his
arrival at Sooloo, found the small-pox had swept otf n)any
of the principal inhabitants, and dispersed the rest; so that
very ineffectual measures had been taken towards pro-
viding the intended cargo. But although this unexpected
calamitj^, which in the Eastern Islands is similar in its ef-
fects to the j)lague, was a sufficient reason for the disap-
pointment of tlie cargo, yet a still more efficient cause,
was the death of Bandahara, soon after Mr. Dalrymple's
departure from Sooloo, the preceding year. A few days
before the death of this good man, he sent for the linguist
whom Mr. Dal rymple had employed, and who had re-
mained behind at Sooloo, asking if he thought the English
would certainly come again. The linguist declaring that
it was not to be doubted ; Bandahara thereupon expressed
liis concern, saying that it would have made him very-
happy to have li^cd to have seen this contract faithfully
performed on tlieir part, and the friendship with the Eng-
lish established on a firm footing. The linguist observed^
D A L R Y M P L E. 223
that they were all equally b(Hiiul. Baiuluhara replied, that
altlioiiii;h this was true, all iiad not the same liispositiou ;
and j)erhajjs none else the jjower of enforcing the due
execution of tlieir engagcaienls ; but that he was resigned
to the divine will.
'I'iiis situation of affairs at Sooloo, made new arranfre-
ments necessary, the result of which was, that one lialf of
the cargo brought thither in the London should he de-
livered, to enable the Sooloos to provide goods for the
expected Indiaman ; hut that ship not arriving, new dilK-
culties arose; as the London was not lari>e enouuh to re-
ceive the goods they had provided ; and the necessitv of
lier departure made it indispensable to deliver the remaining
halt of the cargo, which had l)een retained as an incite-
ment to the Sooloos faithfully to pay for that jjortion they
had received. By delivery of the remainder, every thing
was necessarily left to the mercy of the Sooloos, subjected
not only to their honour, but to their discretion ; for if
the goods they received were dissipated, they could ob-
tain no cargo in return, having nothing to deliver to their
vassals for their services, without which they were not en-
titled to those services. ])alrymple, however, obtained a
grant of the island of Balambangan, for the East India
company, of which he took possession Jan. 23, 1763, on
liis return towards Madras, and as it appeared necessary
that the court of directors should have full information on
the sid))ect of our future intercourse in the eastern islands,
he determined to proceed to England for that purpose.
But as the president and council thought it proper that he
should proceed again to Sooloo in tlie Neptune Indiaman,
in the way to China, and embark thence for England, he
accordingly sailed Irom Madras July 5, 1763. Many cir-
cumstances, however, [)revented the execution of every
part of this plan, and he appears to have been disappointed
in his views respecting the intercourse with the eastern
islands, the advantages of which he afterwards fully stated
in a pamphlet entitled " A Plan for extending the com-
merce, (Sec." published in 1771, though printed in 17C9.
Soonafterhisarrival home in 1 765, discoveries in the South
Sea being a favourite object of Mr. Dalryniple's researches,
he communicated his collections on that subject to the se-
cretary of state, lord Shelbtniie, late n^artj-iis o( Lans-
duwne, who expressed a strong desire to eni])!oy him on
these discoveries. Afterwards, when the royal society
224 D A L R Y M P L E.
proposed to send persons to observe the transit of Venus,
in 1769, Mr. Dalrymple was approved of by the admiralty,
as a proper person to be employed in this service, as well
as to prosecute discoveries in that quarter ; but from some
differences of opinion, partly owing to Oilicial etiquette, re-
specting the employment of any person as commander of
a vessel who was not a naval officer, and partly owing to
Mr. Dalrymple's objections to a divided command, this
design did not take place. In that year, however, the
court of directors of the East India company gave Mr. Dal-
rymple 5000/. for his past services, and as an equivalent
to the emoluments of secretary at Madras, which he had
relinquished in 1759, to proceed on the eastern voyage.
As the various proceedings concerning Balambangan were
published in 1769, it may be sufficient to notice in this
place that the court of directors appointed Mr. Dalrymple
chief of Balambangan, and conunandcr of the Britannia;
but some unhappy differences arising with the directors,
he was removed from the charjre of that intended settle-
inent, and another person appointed in his stead. In 177 1,
however, the court of directors bein^ dissatisfied with this
person's conduct, had it in contemplation to send a super-
visor thither. On this occasion Mr. Dalrymple made an
offer of his services to redeem the expedition from destruc-
tion, without any emolument except defraying his ex-
pences, on condition that a small portion of the clear profits
of the establishment should be granted to him and his heirs,
&c. But this offer was not accepted, and soon after the
settlement of Balambangan was lost to the company.
F'rom the time Mr. Dalrymple returned to ICngland, in
1765, he was almost constantly engaged in collecting and
arranging materials for a full exposition of the imjiortance
of the Eastern Islands and South Seas ; and was encou-
raged by the court of directors to publish various charts,
&c. It is positively affirmed that the chart of the northern
part of tlie Bay of Bengal, published in 1772, was the oc-
casion of saving the Hawke Indiaman from the French, in
the war.
Mr. Dalrymple had taken every occasion to keep up his
claim on the Madras establishment ; but after lord Pigot
was, in 1775, appointed governor of Fort St, George, he
was advised by the then chairman and deputy chairman,
to make a specific application before the arrangement^ of
the Madras council was made, his former letters being
D A L R Y M P L E. 225
considered as too general. Accordingly, on the 3d of
March, 1775, he applied lo be restored to his standing on
the Madras establishment ; which application the company
were pleased to comply with, and he was appointed in his
rank, as a member ot" council, and was nominated to be
one of the committee of circuit. In the proceedings of
the council at Madras, no man, however violent in his
animositv or opposition, ever imputed to Mr. Dalrymple
any want of integrity or zeal, for what he thought was for
the company's interest, and he had the satisfaction to find
that the court of directors jjave him distinguished marks of
their up|)robaLion. On the 1st of April, ill'J, when the
company were pleased to accept of his services in the em-
ployment he held until his death, namely, thatof hydrogra-
pher, by advice of sir George Wombwell, the then chairman,
lie accepted on the 8th that employment by letter, read iu
court on the yth of April, on condition it should not inva-
lidate his pretensions at Madras.
On the 27th of May 1780, the court of directors re-
solved that Messrs. Russell, Dalrymple, Stone, and La-
thom, having come home in pursuance of the resolution of
the general court, in 17 77, to have their conduct inquired
into, and no objection having been made in so long a time,
nor appearing against their conduct, should be again em-
ployed in the company's service. The other gentlemen
were afterwards appointed to chiefships, Mr. Dalrymple
continuing in his present employment, with the reservation
of his Madras pretensions. When the employment of hy-
drographer was confirmed on the 19th of Ju^ly, he ex-
pressed by letter, that he trusted, if he wished to return
to Madras hereafter, that the court would appoint him,
and this letter was ordered to lie on the table.
In 1784, when the India bill was brought into parlia-
ment, there was a clause precluding the company from
sending persons back to India, who had been a certain time
in England; Mr. Dalrymple represented the injustice this
was to him, who had accepted his employment, on con-
dition that it should not injure his pretensions at Madras;
a clause was thereupon inserted, precluding that measure,
unless with the concurrence of three-fourths of the direc-
tors, and three-fourths of the proprietors ; he was still not
satisfied, and carried on a sort of controversial correspond-
ence with the directors, the merits of which would now
be but imperfectly understood.
Vol. XI. Q
226 D A L R Y M P L E.
It having been long in contemplation to have an hydro-
graphical office at the Admiralty, this wa^ at len^jili esta-
blished during the administration of earl Spencer. In 1795
Mr. Dalrymple was appointed to the office of hydrogra-
pher, and received the assent of the court of directors,
under whom he held a similar office, and who had lately
given him a |)ension for life.
From this time little occurred in his history worthy of
particular notice until the month of May 1808, when hav-
ing refused to resign his place of hydrographer to the Ad-
miralty, on the ground of superannuation, and to accept of
a pension, he was dismissed from his situation ; and it is
said, that in the opinion of his medical attendants, his
deatli was occasioned by vexation arising from that event.
A motion was shortly afterwards made on this subject in the
house of commons, when the secretary to the admiralty,
after bearing the most ample testimony to the talents and
services of INIr. Dalrymple, fully justified the conduct of
that board, which had adopted a necessary measure ^ith
much reluctance. Mr. Dalrymple, indeed, had exhibited
so many symptoms of decayed faculties, joined to an irrita-
ble haljit, as to lessen the value of those services for which
he had been so highly respected. He died June 19, 1S08,
at his house in High-street Mary-le-bone, and was buried
in the small cemetery adjoining the church. His collection
Cff books was very large and valuable, and particularly
rich in works pertaining to geography and navigation,
which were purchased by the admiralty. His valuable col-
lection of poetry he bequeathed to his heir at law, to be
kept at the family seat in Scotland, as an heir-loom ; and
his miscellaneous collection, containing, among others, a
great number of valuable foreign books, particularly in the
Sjjanish and Portuguese languages, was sold by auction,
and produced a considerable sum.
His printed wtnks were very numerous. The following
list, exclusive of his nautical publications, was furnished
by himself at the end of some memoirs of his life, which
he .'rew up for the European magazine in 18U2, and of
which we have availed ourselves in the preceding account.
In the following list, those marked * were never published,
and those marked f were not sold.
1. ** Account of Discoveries in the South Pacific Ocean
before 1764," 1767, 8vo. 2. t " Memorial to the Pro-
prietors of East India Stock," 1768, 8vo. 3. f " Account
r> A L R Y M P L E. 227
of what has passed between the East India Directors and
Alexander Dalrymple," as first printed, 1768, Hvo. 4. "Ac-
count of what lias passed — Do. — Do. — as published," 8vo.
5. " Plan ibr extending the Commerce of this Kingdom,
and of the East India Company, by an Establishment at
Balambangan," 1771. 6. * *' Letter concerning the pro-
posed Supervisors," 20th June I76y, 8vo. 7. " Letter
concerning the proposed Supervisors," 30th June 1769, 4to-
8. Second Letter — Do. — 10th July 1769, 4to. 9. " Vox
populi Vox Dei, lord Weymouth's Appeal to the General
Court of India Proprietors, considered, 14th August," 1769,
4to. 10. " Historical collection of South Sea Voyages,"
1770, 2 vols. 4to ; 1771, 4to. 11. f " Proposition of a
benevolent Voyage to introduce Corn, &c. into New Zea-
land," &c. 1771, 4to. 12. Considerations on a Pamphlet
(by governor Johnstone) entitled " Thoughts on our ac-
quisitions in the East Indies, particularly respecting Ben-
oal" 1772, 8vo. 13. *' General View of the East India
Company's Affairs (written in January' 1769), to which are
added some Observations on the present State of the Com-
pany's Afiairs," 1772, 8vo. 14. t " A paper concerning
the General Government for India," 8vo. 15. t " Rights
of the East India Company," — N. B. This was printed at
the company's expencc, 1773, Svo. 16. "Letter to Dr.
Hawkesworth," 1773, 4to. 17. *" Observations on Dr.
Hawkesworth's Preface to 2d edition," 1773, 4to. An
opinion of sir David Dalrymple, that there was too much
asperity in this Reply, retarded, and the death of Dr.
Hawkesworth prevented, the publication. 18. f " Memo-
rial of Doctor Juan Louis Arias (in Spanish)," 1773, 4to.
19. t " Proposition for printing, by subscription, the MS
voyages and travels in the British Museum," 1773, 4to.
20. " A full and clear proof that the Spaniards have no
right to Balambangan," 1774, Svo. 21. "An historical
relation of the several Expeditions, from Fort Marlbro' to
the Islands off the West Coast of Sumatra," 177 5, 4to.
22. " Collection of Voyages, chiefly in the South Atlantic
Ocean, from the original MSS. by Dr. Halley, M. Bouvet,
&.C. with a Preface conctrning a Voyage on Discover}',
proposed to be undertaken by Alexander Dalrymple at hi*
own expence ; Letters to Lord North on the subject, and
Plan of a Republican Colony," 1775, 4to. 23 f'" Copies
of papers relative to the Restoration of the King of T^n-
jour, the Imprisonment of Lord Pigot, &,c. Printed hf
228 D A L R Y M P L E,
the East India Company, for the use of the Proprietors."
1777, 4to. — N. B. In this collection are many Minutes of
Council, and some Letters by Alexander Dalrymple.
24. t Several other pieces on the same subject, written by
Alexander Dalrj^mple, were printed by admiral Pigot and
Alexander Dalrymple, but not sold ; those particularly by
Alexander Dalrymple are 4to, 1777. 25. *' Notes on Lord
Pigot's Narrative.'' 26. *' Letter to Proprietors of East
India Stock," 8th May 1777. 27. " Account of the trans-
actions concerning the Revolt at Madras, 30th April 1777.
Appendix.'* 28. *' Letter to the Covut of Directors, 19th
June 1777. — Memorial — 19th June 1777." 29. t "Ac-
count of the subversion of the Legal Government of Fort
St. George, in answer to Mr. Andrew Stuart's Letter to
the Court of Directors," 1778, 4to. 30. "Journal of
the Grenville," published in the Philosophical Transac-
tions, 1778, 4to. 31. " Considerations on the present
State of Affairs between England and America, 1778," 8vo.
32. '< Considerations on the East India Bill, 1769," 8vo,
1778. 33. " State of the East India Company, and
Sketch of an equitable Agreement," 1780, 8vo. 34. "Ac-
count of the Lossof the Grosvenor," 1783, 8vo. 35. "Re-
flections on the present State of the East India Company,"
1783, 8vo. 36. " A short account of the Gentoo Mode of
collecting the Revenues on the Coast of Coromandel,"
1783, Svo. 37. " A Retrospective View of the Ancient
System of the East India Company, with a Plan of Regu-
lation," 1784, Svo. 38. " Postscript to Mr. Dalrymple's
account of the Gentoo Mode of collecting the Revenues
on the Coast of Coromandel, being, — Obsenations made
on a perusal of it by Moodoo Kistna," 1785, Svo. 39. "Ex-
tracts from Juvenilia, or Poems by George Wither," 1785,
24mo. 40. " Fair State of the Case between the East
India Company and the Owners of Ships now in their
service ; to which are added, — Considerations on Mr.
Brough's Pamphlet, concerning East India Shipping,"
178-6, Svo. 41. " A serious Admonition to the Public on
the intended Thief Colony at Botany Bay." 42. " Re-
view of the Contest concerning Four New Regiments, gra-
ciously offered by his Majesty to be sent to India," &c.
1788, 8vo. 43. * " Plan for promoting the Fur- trade, and
securing it to this Country, by uniting the Operations of
the East India and Hudson's Bay Companies," 1789, 4to.
44. * " Memoir of a Map of the Lands around the North
D A L R Y M P L E. 229
Pole," 1789, 4to. 45. "An Historical Journal of the
Expeditions by Sea and Land, to the North of California
in 1768, 176L>, and 1770, when Sj^anish establishments
were first made at San Diego and Monterey, translated
from the Spanish MS. by William Kevely, esq. to which ia
added, — Translation of Cabrera Bueno's Description of the
Coast of California, and an Extract from the MS Journal
of M. Sauvague le Muet, 1714," 1790, 4to. 46. "A Let-
ter to a Friend on the Test Act," 1790, 8vo. 47. " The
Spanish Pretensions fairly discussed," 17 90, Svo. 48, "The
Spanish Memorial of 4th June considered," 1790, Svo.
49. j " Plan for the publication of a Repertory of Orien-
tal Information," 1790, 4to. 50. *" Memorial of Alex-
ander Dalrymple," 1791, Svo. 51. " Parliamentary Re-
form, as it is called, improper, in the present State of this
Country," 1793, Svo. 52. " Mr. Fox's Letter to his wor-
thy and independent Electors of Westminster, fully con-
sidered," 1793, Svo. 53. t " Observations on the Cop-
per-coinage wanted for the Circars. Printed for the use
of the East India Company," 1794, Svo. 54. " The Poor
Man's Friend," 1795, Svo. 55. " A collection of English
Songs, with an Appendix of Original Pieces," 1796, Svo.
56. * " A Fragment on the India Trade, written in 1791,"
1797, Svo. 57. "Thoughts of an old Man of independent
mind, though dependent fortune," 1800, Svo. 58. " Ori-
ental Repertory," vol. I. 4to. April 1791 to January
1793. 59. " Oriental Repertory," vol. II. 4to. (not com-
pleted).*
DALRYMPLE (David), an eminent Scotch lawyer
and antiq\iary, and brother to the preceding, was born in
Edinburgh on the '28th of October 1726, and was educated
at Eton school, where he was distinguished no less for his
acquisitions in literature than for the regularity of his
manners. From Eton he was removed, to complete his
studies at Utrecht, where he remained till 1746. In 1748
he was called to the Scotch bar, where, notwithstanding
the elegant propriety of the cases which he drew, his suc-
cess did not answer the expectations which had been formed
of him. This was not owing either to want of science or
to want of industry, but to certain peculiarities, which, if
not inherent in his nature, were the result of early and
' Memoirs by himself in European Mag. for November aud December 1802.
— Lysons's Environs, Suppleni^'nlal volumo.
230 D A L R Y M P L E.
deep-rooted habits. He possessed on all occasions a so-
vereign contempt, not only for verbal antithesis, but for
■well-rounded periods, and every thing which had the sem-
blance of declamation ; and indeed he was wholly unfitted,
by an ill-toned voice, and ungraceful elocution, for shi-
ning as an orator. It is not surprizing, therefore, that his
pleadings, which were never addressed to the passions,
did not rival those of some of his opponents, who, pos-
sessed of great rhetorical powers, did not, like iiim, employ
strokes of irony too fine to be perceived by the bulk of any
audience, but expressed themselves in full, clear, and
harmonious periods. Even his memorials, though classi-
cally written, and often replete with valuable matter, did
not on every occasion please the court ; for they were aU
Tjifays brief, and sometimes, it was said, indicated more at-
tention to the minutiae of forms than to the merits of the
cause. Yet on points which touched his own feelings, or
the interests of truth and virtue, his language was animated,
his arguments forcible, and his scrupulous regard to form
thrown aside. He was on all occasions incapable of mis-
leading the j-udge by a false statement of facts, or his
clients, by holding out to them fallacious grounds of hope.
The character indeed which he had obtained for knowledge
and integrity in the Scotch law, soon raised him to an emi-
nence in his profession. Accordingly, in March 1766, he
was appointed one of the judges of the court of session
with the warmest approbation of his countrymen : and in
May 1776 he succeeded to the place of a lord commis-
sioner of the justiciary on the resignation of lord Coalston,
his wife's father. Upon taking his seat on the bench he
assumed the tide of lord Hailes, in compliance with the
visage established in the court of session : this is the name
by which he is generally known among the learned of Eu-
rope.
As a judge of the supreme, civil, and criminal courts,
he acted in the view of his country ; from which he merited
and obtained high confidence and approbation. But he
was not only conspicuous as an able and upright judge,
iuid a sound lawyer ; he was also eminent as a profound
and accurate scholar; being a thorough master of classical
learning, the belles Icttres, and historical antiquities ;
particularly of his own country, to the study of which he
was led by his profession. Indelatigable in the prosecu-
tion of these studies, his time was sedulously devoted to
D A L R Y M P L E. 231
the promotion of useful learning, piety, and virtue. Nu-
merous arc the works that have issued from liis pen, all of
them distinguished by uncommon accuracy, taste, and
learning. Besides some occasional papers, both serious
and humorous, of liis composing, that appeared in tlie
World *, and a variety of communicaiions, critical and
biographical, in the Gentleman's Magazine f, and other
publications of like nature, he allotted some part ot 1ms
time to the illustration and defence of prnnitive Christi-
anity.
In 1771 he composed a very learned and ingenious paper,
or law-case, on the dispnted peerage of Sutherland, lie
was one of the trustees of the la.iy Elizabeth, tne daiignter
of the last earl, and being theti a judge, the names of two
eminent lawyers were annexed to it. In that case, lie dis-
played the greatest accurai-y of research, and tne most
profound knowjetige of the antiquities and rules of descent,
in that country ; wiiich he managed with such dexterity of
argUMient, as clearly established the right of liis pupil, and
f(Mmed a precedent, at the same time, for the decision of
all sueli questions in future. In 1773 he published a small
volume, entitled '' llfmarks on the History of Scotland.'*
These appealed to be the gleanings of the historical re-
search wliicii lie was making at that time, and discovered
his lordship's turn for minute and accurate inquiry into
doubtful points of history, and at the same time displayed
the candour and liberality of his judgment. This puijlica-
tion prepared the public for the favourable reception of
tiie Annals of Scotland, jn 2 vols. 4to, the first of wliich
appeared in 1776, and the second in 1779, and fudy an-
swered the expectations which he had raised. The dilfi-
culties attending the subject, tlie want of candour, and
the spirit of party, had hitherto prevented the Scotch from
having a genuine history of their country, in times previ-
ous to those of queen Mary. Lord Haiies carried his at-
tention to this history, as far back as to the accession of
Malcolm Canmore, in 1037, and his work contains the
* Nos. 140, 147, 204, were wiittea which produced from the pen of our
by loril Hiiiles. English RaphaoJ the vindication of it
-f- The Remarks on fhe 'I'atlers, in in llie same vohune, p. 60'], and the
volume LX. pp. 679. 793, 901, 1073, reply of lord Haiirs, in p. 8S6.— The
1163, were by lord Haiies. His too Edinburgh iMaga/'jiie was also fre»
«as the critique in volume LXI. p. 399, quently enriched by his comtnunica-
on the famous Miniature of Milton, in tions.
ttie possession of sir Joahwa Reynolds,
233 D A L R Y M P L E.
annals of 14 princes, from Malcolm III. to the death of Da-
vid II. And happy it was that the affairs of Scothuid at-
^.^tracted the talents of so able a writer, who to the learning^
and skill of a lawyer, joined the industry and curiosity of
ah antiquary ; to whom no object appears frivolous or un-
important that serves to elucidate his subject.
Lord Hailes has so well authenticated his work by re-
finances to historians of good credit, or deeds and writings
of undoubted authority, and has so happily cleared it from
fable, uncertainty, and conjecture, that every Scotchman,
since its appearance, has been able to trace back with
confidence, in genuine memoirs, the history of his country
for 736 years, and may revere the memory of the respec-
table judge, who with indefatigable industry, and painful
labour, has removed the rubbish under which the precious
remains were concealed. Lord Hailes at first intended,
as appears by an advertisement prefixed to his work, to
carry down his annals to the accession of James I. but, to
the great disappointment of the public, he stofjped short
at the death of David IL and a very important period of
the history still remains to be filled up by an able writer.
Lord Hailes's Annals of Scotland, it is believed, stand un-
rivalled in the English language, for a purity and simpli-
city of style, an elegance, perspicuity, and conciseness of
narration, that peculiarly suited the form of his work; and
is entirely void of that false ornament, and stately gait,
which makes the works of some other writers appear in
gigantic but fictitious majesty.
In 1786, Lord Hailes came forward with the excellent
Dr. VVutson, and other writers in England, to repel Mr.
Gibbon's attack on Christianity, and puiilislied a 4to vo-
lume, entitled " An Enquiry into the Secondary Causes
which Mr. Gibbon has assigned for the rapid pro"^ress of
Christianity," in which there is a great display of literary
acumen, and of zeal for the cause he espou.ses, without
the rancour of theological controversy. Tiiis was the last
work he sent from the press ; except a few biographical
sketches of eminent Scotsmen, designed as specimens of
a " Biographia Scotica," which he justly considered as a
desideratum, and which, it is much to be regretted, the
infirmities of age, increasing fast upon him, did not allow
him to supply ; for he was admirably qualified for the un-
dertaking, not only by his singular diligence and candour,
but from the uncommon extent and accuracy of his literary
D A L R Y M P L E, *33
and biographical knowledge ; in which, it is believed, he
excelled a.11 his contemporaries.
Akhouiih his lordsliip's constitution had been \or\<r in an
enfeebled stale, he attended his duty on the bench till
within three days of his death, which happened on the 29th
of November 1792, in the 66th year of his age. His lord-
ship was twice married ; by his first wife, Anne Brown,
oidy daughter of lord Coalston, he left issue one daughter,
who inherits the family estate. His second marriage (of
wliicli also there is issue one daughter) was to Helen
Fergusson, youngest daughter of lord .Kilkerran, who
survived liim. Leaving no male issue, the title of baronet
descends to his nephew, son of the late lord provost DaU
rymple.
Lord Hailes was for some years the correspondent of Dr.
Johnson, to whose inspection he submitted much of his
*' Annals" in manuscript. He had early formed a high
opinion of the author of the Rambler, and considered him
as one of the best moral writers England had produced.
Johnson praised him as " a man of worth, a scholar, and
a wit." His minute accuracy, and acuteness in detecting
error, were in unison with Johnson's love of truth. " The
exactness of his dates," said he on one occasion, " raises
my wondt^r. He seems to have the closeness of Henault,
without his constraint;" and this opinion he takes a plea-
sure in repeating in a subsequent letter to Mr. Boswell :
*' Be so kind as to return lord Hailes my most respectful
thanks for his first volume : his accuracy strikes me with
wonder ; his narrative is far superior to that of Henault, as
I have formerly mentioned." — " Lord Hailes's Annals of
Scotland have not that pointed form which is the taste of
this age ; but it is a book which will always sell — it has
such a stability of dates, such a certainty of facts, and
such a punctuality of citation. I never before read Scotch
history with certainty."
The erudition of lord Hailes, says his friend the late
lord Woodhouslee, was not of a dry and scholastic nature;
he felt the beauties of the composition of the ancients ; he
entered with taste and discernment into the merits of the
Latin poets, and that peculiar vein of delicate and inge-
nious thought which characterises the Greek epigram-
matists ; and a few specimens which he has left of his own
^composition in that style, evince the hand of a master. It
would not, adds his lordship, be easy to produce from the
234 D A L R Y M P L E.
works of any modern Latin poet, a more delicate, tender,
and pathetic effusion, or an idyllion of greater classical
purity, tiian the iambics he wrote *' On the death of his
tirst wife, in child-bed of twins*." Lord Hailes was a
man of wit, and possessed a strong feeling of the absurd
and ridicDlous in human conduct and character, which
gave a keen edge of irony both to his conversation and
writings. To his praise, however, it must be added, that
that irony, if not always untinctured with prejudice, was
never prompted by malignity, and was generally exerted
in the cause of virtue and good morals. How much he
excelled in painting the lighter weaknesses and absurdities
of mankind, may be seen from the papers of his compo-
sition in the " World" and the " Mirror." His private
character was every thing that is praise-worthy and re-
spectable. In a word, he was an honour to the station
which he filled, and to the age in which he lived. That
such a man shouUl not yet have found a biographer worthy
of his merits, cannot be ascribed either to the obscurity of
his character and station, or to the incapacity of his con-
temporaries. But lord Hailes was a man of piety of the
old stamp, and a strenuous advocate for revealed religion,
and therefore did not share, as he woulti not have been
ambitious to share, the celebrity that has been conferred
on some of his countrymen of a very opposite character.
The works of lord Hailes, arranged in the order of their
publication, areas follow: 1. " bacred poems, by various
authors," Edinb. 1751, 12mo. 2. " Tiie wisdom of So-
lomon, wisdom of Jesus the son of Sirach, or Kcclesiasti-
cus," Edinb. 1755, 12mo. 3. '* Select discourses, nine
in number, by John Smith, late fellow of Queen's col-
lege, Cambridge," Edinb. 1756, 12mo. 4. " World,"
■No. 140, Sept. 4, 1755; a meditation among books. 5.
World, No. 147, Thursday, Oct. 23, 1755. C. World,
No. 204, Thursday, Nov. 25, 1756. 7. " A discourse of
the unnatural and vile Conspiracy attempted by John earl
of Cowry, and his brother, against his majesty's person,
at St. Johnstoun, upon the 5th of Aug. 1600," 1757, 12mo.
8. " A sermon wiiich might have been preached in East
Lothian, upon the 25th day of Oct. 1761, from Acts xxvii.
* Vidi gemrllos, ct supt rbivi parens, Te, (1iiI<ms uxor ! Ut mihi sol occridit,
Fausti (lecus puerperi j !?ndian»c ilejectiis polo !
At niox sub uiio flcbilis viUi parens 01)S(;ur.i vita: nunc eg:o pi r :»via,
C'oHili gemellus ccspite. Hiu,. sulus, ac Uubiut f( ri.r !
D A L R Y M P L E. 23i
1, 2. " The barbarous people shewed us no little kind-
ness," Etliiib. 1761, k2mo ; occasioned by the country
people pillaging the wreck of two ves-els, viz, the Betsy,
Cunningham, and the Leith packet, Pitcairn, from Lon-
don to Lcitli, cast away on the shore between Dunbar and
North Berwick. Ali the passengers on board the former,
in number seventeen, perished ; five on-board the latter,
Oct. 16, 1761. An all'ecting discourse, which is said to
have produced the restitution of some part of the pillage.
9. '* Memorials and Letters relating to the history of Bri-
tain in the reign of James 1. publislied from the originals,"
Glasgow, 1762. 10. " The works of the ever-memorable
Mr. John Hailes of Eton, now first collected together,"
Glasgow, 1765, 3 vols. The line-paper copies of this
work are truly elegant. 11. A specimen of a book en-
titled : Ane compendious booke of godlie and spiritual
sangs, collectit out of sundrie parts of the Scripture, with
sundrie other ballates, changed out of prophaine sangs, for
avoyding of sin and harlotrie, with augmentation of sundrie
gude and godlie ballates, not contained in the first edition.
Printed by Andro Hart," Edmb. 1765, l2mo. 12 " Me-
morials and Letters relating to the history of Britain in the
reign of Charles L published from the originals," Glasgow,
1766. 13. " An Account of the Preservation of Charles IL
after the battle of W^orcester, drawn up by himself; to
which are added, his letters to several persons," Glasgow,
1766. 14. "The secret correspondence between sir Ro-
bert Cecil and James VI." 1766, 12mo. 15. "A cata-
logue of the lords of session, from the institution of the
college of justice, in \5i2, with historical notes," Edinb.
1767, 4to. 16. " The private correspondence of doctor
Francis Atteibury, bishop of Rochester, and his friends,
in 1725, never before published," 1768, 4to. 17. "An
examination of some of the artjuments for the hitrh anti-
quity of regiam majestatem ; and an inquiry into the au-
thenticity of the leges Malcolmi," Edinb. 1769, 4to. IS.
" Historical Memoirs concerning the Provincial Councils of
the Scottish Clergy, from the earliest accounts of the sera
of the reformation," Edinb. 1769, 4to. 19. *' Canons of
the church of Scotland, drawn up in the provincial councils
held at Perth, anno 1242 and 1269," Edinb. 1769, 4to.
20. " Ancient Scottish poems, published from the manu-
script of George Bannatyne, 1568," Edinb. 1770, 12mo.
21, " The additional case of Elizabeth, claiming the title
236 D A L R Y M P L E.
and dignity of countess of Sutherland," 4to. 22. " Re-
marks Sn the History of Scotland,^' Edinb. 1773, 12mo.
23. " Huberti Langueti EpistoliE ad Philippum Sydneiuin
equitem Angluni, accurante D. Dalrymple de Hailes eq."
Edinb. 1776, 8vo. 24. " Annals of Scotland, from the
accession of Malcolm III. surnamed Canmore, to the ac-
cession of Robert 1." Edinb. 1776. 25. "Tables of tlie
succession of the kings of Scotland, from Malcolm III. to
Robert I." 26. Chronological abridgment of the volume."
The appendix contains eight dissertations. 27. " Annals
of Scotland, iVom the accession of Robert I. surnamed
Bruce, to the accession of the house of Stewart," 1779,
4to, with an appendix containing nine dissertations. 28.
*' Account of the Martyrs of Smyrna and Lyons, in the 2d
century, with explanatory notes," Eclinb. 177G. 29.
*' Remains of Christian A^ntiquity," Edinb. 1778, 3 vols.
30. " Octavius, a dialogue by Marcus Minucius Felix,'*
Edinb. 1781. 31. "Of the manner in which the perse-
cutors died, by Lactantius," Edinb. 1782. 32. " Luciani
Coeiii Firmiani Lactantii divinarum institutionura liber
quintus, seu de justitia," 1777. 33. " Disquisitions con-
cerning the Antiquities of the Christian Church," Glasgow,
1783. 34. " Sketch of the life of John Barclay," 1786,
4to. 35. *' Sketch of the life of John Hamilton, a secular
priest, who lived about 1600," 4to. 36. " Sketch of the
life of sir James Ramsay, a general oiBcer in the armies of
Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden." 37. " Life of
George Leslie," 4to. 33. " Sketch of the life of Mark
Alex. Boyd," 4to. 39. " The opinions of Sarah duchess
dowager of Marlborough, published from her originalMSS."
1788, 12mo. 40. " The address of Q. Scjjtim. TertuUian
to Scapula Tertnllus, proconsul of Africa," Edinb. 1790,
12mo. This address contains many particulars relating to
the church after the 3d century. The translator has re-
jected all words and phrases of French origin, and writes
entirely in the Anglo-Saxon dialect. In the course of the
notes, many obscurities of the original, not adverted to by
other commentators, are explained. Some strange inac-
curacies of Mr. Gibbon are also detected, not included in
the misrepresentations of his two famous chapters. He
was long engaged in pursuits to examine the authenticity
of the books of the New Testament. The result is said to
have been, that he discovered every verse contained in it,
with the exception of two or three, in the writings of the
D A L R Y M P L E. 237
three first centuries. — Indeed this seems to have Ijeen an
object in iiU his works ; tor, at the end of each of his
translations and editions of the primitive Christian writers,
a table is given of passages quoted or mentioned by them. *
DALRYMPLE (James), the seventh baron and first
viscount Stair, was born in 1609, studied at the college
of Glasgow, and passed all the regular degrees of learning
in that university. On the commencement of the rebel-
lion in the reign of Charles I. he accepted a captain's com-
mission from the parHament, in the earl of Glencairn's re-
giment, but was soon called off to a more suitable province,
that of filling a philosophy chair in the university of Glas-
gow. Having applied himself particularly to the study of
tlie laws, he entered as an advocate in 1648, and became
eminent for his judgment and skill, if not for his integrity.
AV'hen tne estates of the nation sent commissioners to
Breda to invite Charles II. to Scotland, he was appointed
secretary to the embass}-, and acquitted himself entirely to
his majesty's satisfaction. He then resumed his practice
at the bar, but could not be prevailed upon to take any
oaths to the government during the usurpation. W'heu
Charles II. was restored to the throne, he conferred on
Mr. Dalrymple the honour of knighthood, appointed him
a senator of the college of justice, and in 1671, lord pre-
sident of the session, in which office his conduct was very
unpopular; and in 1682, being dismissed from all his of-
fices, he retired to Holland, where he became such a
favourite with William prince of Orange, that when ad-
vanced to tl)e throne of these kingdoms, his majesty re-
stored him to his place of lord presixlent, and raised him
to the dignity of viscount Stair, lord Glenluce and Stran-
rawer. His lordship continued to enjoy his hygh legal
office, and the favour of his prince, till his death, Nov. 25,
1695.- His character as a politician has not been favour-
ably drawn by some historians, particularly Mr. Laing, in
liis lately-published " History of Scotland." His personal
character seems liable to less objection, and of his learning
no doubt can be justly enteitaii»ed. He wrote : 1. " The
Institutions of the Law of Scotland," second edit. fol. 1693.
* Edinburgh Magazine for 1793. — European for ditto. — Gent. Mas- vol. LXIf.
— Dr. Gleig's Supplement to the EncycloprBdi.i Britannioa. — Tytlcr's Life of
Lord Kaimes. — Forbes's Life of Bealtie. — Funeral Sermon by Dr. Carlyle—
Boswell's Life of Johnsou. — Letter in defence of his grandfather, London Mag.
1775, p. 3S0.
235 D A L R Y M P L E.
2. " Decisions of the Court of Session from 1661 to 1681,"
2 vols. fol. 3. " Pliilosopliia nova experimentalis," pub-
lished in Holland during his exile, and much commended
by Bayle in his Journal. 4. " A Vindication of the Divine
Perfections, &c. by a Person of Honour," 1695, 8vo.
5. " An Apology for his own Conduct," 4to, the only copy
of which extant is said to be in the advocates' library at
Edinburgh, Had lord Orford read much of his history, he
needed not have added that " it is not known on what oc-
casion he published it."^
DALTON (John, D. D.) was born in 1709, at Deane,
in Cumberland, where his father was then rector. He had
Lis school education at Lowther, in Westmoreland, and
thence was removed, at the age of sixteen, to Queen's-
coUege, in Oxford. When he had taken his first degrees,
he was employed as tutor or governor to lord Beauchamo,
only son of Algernon Seymour, earl of Hertford, late duke
of Somerset. During his attendance on that noble youth,
he employed some of his leisure hours in adapting Milton's
" Masque at Ludlow Castle" to the stage, by a judicious
insertion of several songs and passages selected from other
of Milton's works, as well as of several songs and other
elegant additions of his own, suited to the characters and
to the manner of th« ori<iinal author. This was received
as a very acceptable present to the public ; and it still
continues one of the most favourite dramatic entertain-
ments, under the title of " Comus, a masque," being set
to music by Dr, Arne. We cannot omit mentioning to
Dalton's honour, that, during the run of this piece, he in-
dustriously sought out a grand-daughter of Milton's, op-
pressed both by age and penury; and procured her a
benefit from this play, the profits of which to her amounted,
it is said, to upwards of 120/. Dr. Johnson wrote the Pro-
logue spoken on this occasion. A bad state of health pre-
vented Dr. Dalton from attending his pupil abroad, and
saved him the mortification of beuig an eye-witness of his
death, which was occasioned by the small-pox, at Bologna,
in Italy. Soon after, succeeding to a fellowship in his
college, he entered into orders, according to the rules of
that society.
He now applied hitnself with diligence to the duties of.
his function, and was noticed as an able preacher at the
* Park's edition of the Royal and Noble Authors. — Laing's Hist, of ScollanJ,
D A'L T O N. 233
university, in which character he was employed by Seclcer,
afterwards archbishop ot Canterbury, as his assistant at
St. James's. In July 17oO he took liis degrees of B. and
D. D. for which he went out grand compounder, and about
the same time, was presented to the rectory of St. Mary at
Hill by the late duke of Somerset ; and upon his recom-
nieiidatiou, promoted by tl)e king to a prebend of Wor-
cester, iit wiiich ])lace he died, July 21, 1763. He mar-
ried a sister of sir Francis Gosling, an alderman of Lon-
don, Ky whom he left no issue. He had published, 1 ,
*' A volume of Sermons," 1757 ; and before that, 2. " Two
Kpistles," 1744, 4to, written in 1735, 3. "A descriptive
Poem, addressed to two ladies, at their return from view-
ing the coal-mines near Whitehaven ;" to which are added
some thoughts on building and planting, addressed to sir
James Lovvther, of Lowther^hall, bart. 17 55, 4to. This
entertaining poem, which is reprinted in Pearch's collec-
tion, vol. I. describes the real descent of two fair heroines
into the subterraneous, and indeed submarine, regions;
the mines, which are remarkable for many singularities ;
Savery's tire-engine; and the remainder is employed in a.
survey of the improvements in Whitehaven, by the great
commerce which these mines occasion, and in a very elegant
display of the beauties of the adjacent countr}'. 4. " Re-
marks on twelve historical designs of Raphael, and the
Museum Grajcum & Egyptiacum ;" illustrated by prints
from his brother Mr. Richard Dalton's drawings. '
DALTON (lliciiARD), brother to the preceding, keeper
of the pictures, medals, &,c, and antiquary to his majesty,
was originally apprenticed to a coach-painter in Clerken-
well, and after quitting his master, went to Rome to pur-
sue the study of painting, where, about the year 1749, au
invitation was given him by Roger Kynaston, esq, of
Shrewsbury, in company with Mr. (afterwards sir John)
Frederick, to accompany them to Naples. From that city
they proceeded in a felucca, along the coast of Calabria,
crossed over to Messina, and thence to Catania, where
ihey met with lord Charlemont, Mr. Burton, afterwards
lord Cunningham, Mr. Scott, and Mr. Murpiiy. They
then sailed together in a ship, hired by lord Charlemont
and his party, from Leghorn, with the intention of making
that voyage ; the felucca followed first to Syracuse, then
* Biog. Dram,— Hutchinson's Hist, of Cumberland.
240 D A L T O N.
to the isle of Malta, and afterwards separated ; but Mr.
Dalton, accompanying the party in the ship, made the
Toyage to Constantinople, several parts of Greece, and
Egypt. This voyage led to his publication, which ap-
peared in 1781, called, " Explanation of the set of prints
relative to the manners, customs, &.c. of the present inha-
bitants of Egypt, from discoveries made on the spot, 1749,
etched and engraved by Richard Dalton, esq." On his
return to England, he was, by the interest of his noble
patron lord Charlemont, introduced to the notice of his
present majesty, then prince of Wales, who, after his ac-
cession to the throne, appointed him his librarian, an office
for which it would appear he was but indifferently quali-
fied, if Dr. Morell's report be true*. Soon after, it being
determined to forrii a noble collection of drawings, medals,
&.C. Mr. Dalton was sent to Italy in 17G3, to collect the
various articles suited to the intention. The accomplish-
ment of that object, however, was unfortunately attended
with circumstances which gave rise to sir Robert Strange's
memorable letter of complaint to the earl of Bute, in which
he says, indignantl}-, although not altogether unjustly, that
" persecution haunted him, even beyond the Alps, in the
form of Mr. Dalton." On this subject it may here be
necessary only to refer to sir Robert's letter, and to the
authorities in the note.
The object of Mr. Dalton's tour being achieved, he re-
turned to London, and when the royal cabinet was adjust-
ed, his department of librarian was changed to that of
keeper of the drawings and medals; and in 1778, upon the
death of Mr. Knapton, his majesty appointed him surveyor
of the pictures in the palaces. Upon his first appointment
at court, he had apartments at !St. James's palace, where
he resided until his death Feb. 7, 1791. He was elected a
fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 1767 ; and when
the society of artists was incorporated by charter, he was
appointed treasurer, but soon resigned the office, in conse-
quence of the dissentions which took place in that institu-
tion. In 1764, he married Esther, daughter of Abraham
DeheuUe, a silk weaver in Spitalhelds, by whom he had a
considerable fortune. Having no issue by her, he left
lOOO/. to a natural son, after the death of his brother Dr.
* Dr. Mf.rpll reported that Mr. things that *' might be got again every
Dalton, in garbling liis niajpsty's li- 'day '."
brary, threw out several Caxtons, as
B A L T O N. 241
t)altoii's \vl Jow ; and directed all his pictures, antiques,
drawings, &c. and otlier personal property, to be sold for
the benefit of his servants.
As an ariist, Mr. Edwards is of opinion that he never
acquired any great powers. In one of the early exhibi-
tions was a drawing exectjted by iiiin ; lite subject, an
Egyptian dancing girl, which was the only specimen he
ever exhibited : but he published several works at different
periods of his life. The first was tlie collection of prints
after the antique statues, a few of which he etched himself,
hut they cannot be considered as masterly performances.
Some of these are dated 1744; the names of the others
may be found in our authorities, with many, and some not
very pleasing, traits of personal character. '
DALTON (Michael), an English lawyer', was born
somewhere in the county of Cambridge, in 1554, and bred
to his profession in Lincoln's-inn, or Gray's-inn, and was
formerly as well known for his book on the office of justice
of the j)eace, as Burn is at present ; his " Duty of Sheriffs"
was also a book in good esteem. In Neal's " History of the
Puritans," mention is made of Mr. Dalton the queen's
counsel, who, in 1590, pleaded against Mr. Udal, who
was condemned for writinor a libel called " A demonstra-
tion of Discipline ;" this was probably our Dalton, who
also in 1592 supported the episcopal power in parliament,
vi' which he was a member, when attacked by the puritan
party. There is a MS. of his in the British Museum, en-
titled " A Breviary or Chronology of the state of the Ro-
man or Western church or Empire ; the decay of true re-
ligion, and the rising of papacy, from the time of our
Saviour till Martin Luther." In this he is styled Michael
Dalton of Gray's-inn, esq. It is supposed that he died
before the commencement of the civil war. ^
DALY (Daniel), an Irishman by birth, was born in the
tounty of Kerry in 1595, and became a Dominican, adopt-
ing the name of Dominicus a llosario. He was at first
educated in a convent of his order at Tralee, but studied
prnicipaliy in Flanders. The fame which he acquired for
learning and piety procured him an invitation to Lisbon, to
assist in founding a convent for the Irish Dommicans,
which had been projected by Philip IV. then master of
• » Edwards's Supplement to Walpole.— Gent. Mas. LXI. ISS, 195, 5'26, LXVL
1[46. -i Fuller's Worthies,— iitr>'pe'>- Life ot WhitgiCt, p. 387.— Grau-tr/
Vol, XL R
2i2 DALY.
Poitufral. This being accomplislied, be Was elected the
first superior. H^ also assisted at the foundation of a se-
cond, for the natives of Ireiand, and so entirely gained
the good opinion and confidence of the duke of Braganza
when he ascended the throne, that in 1655, his majesty
honoured him with the appointment of amliassador to
Louis XIV. of France, to negociate a treaty of alliance and
affinity between the two courts. At Paris he was equally
valued in the character of churchtiian and statesman, and
became highly popular by his works of piety and charity.
He died at Lisbon June 30, 1662, and was interred in the
chapel of his convent, with a monument and inscription ;
from which we learn that at the time of his death he was
bishop elect of Coimbra. He had l^efore refused the
archbishopric of Goa. Among his ecclesiastical dignities,
he was censor of the inquisition, visitor-general and vicar-
general of the kingdom. One book only of his is known,
which is probably a very curious one, " Initium, incremen-
turn, et exitus familiae Giraldinorum Desmoniae comituin
Palatinorum Kyerria in Hibernia, ac persecutionis haereti-
corum descriptio, ex nonnullis fragmentis collecta ac lati-
nitate donata," Lisbon, 1655, 8vo. '
DALZELL (Anthony), M. A. F. R. S. Edin. Greek
professor in the university of Edinburgh, keeper of the
university library, &.c. was born in 1750, in the parish of
Katho, near Edinburgh, and was educated partly at the
parish school, but principally at Edinburgh, where his
learning and moral conduct induced the late earl of
Lauderdale to appoint him tutor to his eldest son, lord
Maitland, the j)resent earl. With this young nobleman, he
attended a course of the lectures of the celebrated professor
Millar at Glasgow, and afterwards accompanied his lord-
ship to Paris. On his return from the continent, Mr. Dal-
zcll, at the recommendation of the late earl of Lauderdale,
was appointed to the professorship of Greek at Edinburgh,
an office which he filled for many years with the highest
reputation and advantage to the university. He has the
credit indeed of reviving a taste for that language, which
from various causes, had been disused at Edinburgh, or
studied very superficially. To enable his pupils to prose-
cute this accomplishment with the more effect, and imbibe
u taste for wliat was elegant in the language, he compiled
} Morcri.
D A L Z E L L. 243
and printed, at a great expence, a series of collections out
of the Greek authors, including all those passages which
he wished to explain in the course of his teaching. These
were printed in several 8vo volumes, under the titles of
*' Collectanea Minora," and " Collectanea Majora." He
added to eacli volume short notes in Latin, explanatory of
the dilKcult places, and the text was printed with great
accuracy. The notes, which are in elegant Latin, are ad-
mirable for brevity, perspicuity, and judgment. He at
the same time composed and read to tiie students a series
of lectures on the language and antiquities, the philosophy
and history, tlie literature, eloquence, poetry, and fine arts
of the Greeks. By these means he became eminently suc-
cessful in disseminating a taste for classical literature in the
university, nor was he less happy in the art of engao-ing
the alfections and fixing the attention of his pupils on the
objects which he considered as the fundamentals of all
genuine scholarship.
On the death of the learned professor of Oriental lan-
guages, Dr. James Robertson, he was chosen to succeed
him as keeper of the university library; and likewise suc-
ceeded Dr. John Drysdale in the honourable appointment
of principal clerk to the general assembly of the charch of
Scotland, being the first layman who had ever been elected
to that office. Besides an intimacy with his learned con-
temporaries at home, he corresponded with Heyne and
other eminent scholars abroad, and enriched the Edin-
burgh Royal Society Transactions with a variety of in-
teresting communications in biography, or on subjects of
erudition. He also translated and illustrated Chevalier's
description of the plain of Troy; and was editor of the
sermons of Dr. Drysdale, whose daughter he married.
This learned professor, whose private character was irt
every respect amiable, and threw a lustre on his public
services, died at Edinburgh, Dec. 8, ISOC. ^
DAMASCENUS (John), or John of Damascus, a learned
priest and monk of the eighth century, surnamrd Mansur,
was born at Damascus about 61 G. His father, who was
rich, and held several considerable offices, had him in-
structed in the sciences by an Italian monk, named Cosmo,
and he was afterwards raised to the highest posts, and be-
came chief counsellor to the prince of the Saracens, All
> Gent. JIaa:. vol. LXXVII. p. 85.
R 2
214 DAMASCtNUS.
these dignities, however, St. John Damascenus resigned,
and entered himself a monk in the monastery of St. Sabas
near Jerusalem, where he led a pious and exemplary life,
and became famous in the church by his piety and writings.
It is said, that the caliph Hiocham, having ordered his
right hand to be cut otf on account of a forged letter by
the emperor Leo, the hand was restored to him the night
following by a miracle, as he slept; which miracle was
univer.-allv known, or as much so as many other miracles
propagated in the credulous ages. He died about the year
760, aged eighty-fuur. He left an excellent treatise on the
orthodox faith, and several other works published in Greek
and Latin, by le Quien, 1712, 2 vols. fol. A hook en-
titled '• Liber Barlaam et Josaphat IndiiE regis," is as-
cribed to St. John Daniascenus, but without any founda-
tion ; it has no date of time or place, but was printed about
1470, and is scarce. There are several French translations
of it, old, and little valued. Damascenus raav be reckoned
the most learned man of the eighth century, if we except
our countryman Bede ; and, what is less to ins credit, one
of the first who mingled the Aristotelian philosophy with
the Christian relicjion. He became amont; the Greeks
what Thomas Aquinas was afterwards among the Latins,
Except with regard to the doctrine of the Trinity, most of
his notions were erroneous, and his learning and fame
gave considerable support to the worshipping of images,
and other superstitions of that time.
One merit of Damascenus has not been generally no-
ticed. He is celebrated by the writers of his life, and by
ecclesiastical historians, as the compiler and reformer of
chants in the Greek church, in the same manner as St.
Gregory in the Roman. Leo Allatius tells us they were
composed by J. Damascenus, and Zarlino goes still farther,
and informs us, that in the first ages of Christianity th«
ancient Greek notation by letters having been thrown aside,
Damascenus invented new characters, which he accommo-
dated to the Greek ecclesiastical tones ; and that these
characters did not, like ours, merely 'express single sounds,
but all the intervals used in melody ; as a semitone, tone,
third minor, third major, &c. ascending and descending,
with their diB'erent duration. This resembles, in many
particulars, the notation of the ecclesiastical books of the
Komvsh church, before* the time-table and characters in
D A M A S C I U S. 245
present use were invented, or, at least, generally re-
ceived.'
DAMASCIUS, a celebrated heathen philosopher and
writer, of the stoic school as som'^ say, of die peripatetic
according to others, was borii at Damascus, and flourished
about 540, when the Goths reigned in Italy. If great
masters can make a great scholar or phihjsopher, Daniascius
had every advantage of this kind. 'I'u^on, we are told,
was his preceptor in rhetoric ; Isidorns in logic ; Marinus,
the successor of Proclus in the school of Athens, in geo-
metry and arithmetic ; Zenodotus, the successor of Ma-
rinus, in philosophy ; and Ammonius in astronomy, and
the doctrines of Plato. He wrote the life of his master
Isidorus, and dedicated it to Theodora, a very learned and
philosophic lady, wiio had been a pupil of Isidorns. In
this Life, which was copiously written, Daniascius fre-
quently attacked the Christian religion ; yet obliquely, it
is said, and with some reserve and timidity : for Chris-
tianity was then too firmly estal>lished, and protected by its
numbers, to endure any open attacks with impunity, espe-
cially in a work so remarkable for obscurity, fanaticism,
and imposture. Of this Life, however, we have nothing
remaining, but some extracts which Photius has preserved ;
•who also acquaints us with another work of Daniascius, of
the philosophic or the theologic kind. This was divided
into four books; 1. De admirandis operibus; 2. Admiran-
doi narrationes de daemonibus ; 3. De animarum appari-
tionibus post obitum admirandae narrationes. The title of
the fourth has not been jjreserved. Damascius succeeded
Theon in the rhetorical school, over which he presided
nine years: and afterwards Isidorns in that of philosophy
at Athens, in which situation it is supposed that he spent
the latter part of his life. "
DAMASUS, a celebrated pope, was born at Guimaraene
in Spain, and succeeded Liberius in the year ;''66. Ursinns,
or Ursicinus, opposed his election, and caused himself to be
ordained bishop of Rome, which raised a sedition, in which
many of the people were murdered. Ursinns was sent into
exile by order of the emperor, but, returning to Italy in the
3'ear 381, excited fresh troubles there. The Italian bishojjs,
however, condemned him the .same year, in the council of
' Gen. Diet — Mosheim. — Lnrdner. — Brurker. — Milnei's Cli. Tlist. vo). TIF.
208. — Cave. — Bumcy's Hist, of Music, vol. 11. 2 Cave.^-Morcti. — Biucker.
246 D A M A S U S.
Aquileia, and he was banished for ever by the emperor
Gratian, at their request: tlius Damasus remained in
peaceful possession of his seat at Home. He held several
councils, condeiimcd Ursaces, Valens, and Auxeiitius;
took the partof Paulinns against Meletius, excommunicated
Apolhnanus, Vitalus, and Timotheus ; and declared him-
self against the Luciferians. Damasus had an illustrious se-
cretary in St. Jerome. He governed the church of Rome
with what the catholic writers term great glory, for eighteen
years, and died in the year 384. Some of his letters re-
main, Rome, 17 54, fol. with his life, in the library of the
fathers, and in the Epist. Rom. Pont, of Constant, fol. He
also left some Latin verses, which may be found in Mait-
taire's Corpus Poetarum. Fabricius gives a very parti-
cular account of his works. This pope is said to have in-
troduced the custom of singing hallelujah in the church.
He is more noted, however, for having extended the power
and authority of the bishops of Rome, and laid the foun-
dation of the custom of conferring upon certain bishops
the title of vicars to the pope, by which they were enabled
to perform several authoritative acts, which they could not
by the mere virtue of episcopal power: hence the rights
of bishops and synods became gradually and entirely de-
pendent on the authority of the pope. '
DAMIAN, or DAMIANO (Peter), an eminent car-
dinal, was born at Ravenna in the beginning of the eleventh
centurj^ became a Benedictine, and, it is thought, would
always have preferred solitude to the dignities of the
church, if he had not been in some measure forced to ac-
cept them. In 1057 he was created cardinal by j)ope
Stephen IX. and under pope Nicolas U. was sent as papal
legate to Milan, to reform certain clerical abuses, which
he successfully accomplished, and even turned his argu-
ments against his superiors, whom he found licentious,
without any respect for their rank or power. Among other
proofs of his zeal, he publicly condemned the liberty which
the popes took of opposing the emperors in cases of war ;
affirming, that the offices of emperor and pope are distinct,
and that the empepors ought not to meddle with what be-
longs to the popes, nor the popes with what belongs to
the emperors. " As the son of God," says he, " sur-
mounted all the obstacles of worldly power, not by the
• Moreri. — Cave, — Lardner. — Fab. Bibl. Med. Lat. — Dupin. — Saxii Oiiomast.
D A M I A N. 247
severity of vengeance, but by the lively majesty of an in-
vincible patience, so has lie taught us rather to bear the
fury of the world with constancy, than to take up arms
against those who offend us ; especially since between the
royalty and the priesthood there is such a dibtinction of
offices, that it belongs to the king to use secular arms, and
to the priest to gird on the sword of the spirit, which is
the word of God," &c. Damian described also in a verv
lively manner the enormous vices of his age, in several of
Iiis works; in his Gomorrhajus particularly, which, though
pope Alexander II. thought fit to suppress it, lias never-
theless been preserved. Disa|)pointed, however, in his
hopes of producing any favourable change, he resigned all
his preferments in the church in 1061, although he appears
afterwards to have been employed on missions as legate.
He died in 1073, and his writings, while in MS. must have
been frequently read and admired, as we find that between
five and six centuries after his death they were ordered to
be printed by Clement VIII. who employed Constantine
Cajelan as editor. This first edition was published at
Rome in 3 vols. fol. 1606, 1608, 1615, and reprinted at
Leyden, 1623, fol. In 1G40 Cajetan added a fourth vo-
lume. The whole were afterwards reprinted at Paris in
1642 and 1663, in a thick folio. These works consist of
** Letters," of which a separate edition had been published
at Paris, 1609, 4to, " Sermons," " Dissertations," &c. &.c.*
DAMPIER (Capt. William), a celebrated English na-
vigator, descended from a good family in Somersetshire,
was born in 1652 ; but losing his father when very young,
he was sent to sea, where he soon distinguished himself,
particularly in the South Sea. He associated himself with
capt. Cook, in order to cruize on the Spaniards; and, Aug,
23, 1683, sailed from Achamac in Virginia for the Cape
de Verde islands. After touching at several of them, he
steered for the Streights of Magellan ; but, the wind being
against them, they stood over for the Guinea coast, and in
a tew days anchored at the mouth of Sherborough river,
where the ship's crew were hospitably received by the in-
habitants. He then proceeded to the South Seas through
the Streights of Magellan ; and, arriving at the isle of Juan
Fernandez, took on board a Moskito Indian, who had been
' Gen. Diet. — IVIoreri in art. Pierre. — Fabricius Bibl. Lat. Med. Si Inf.->»
Dupin, and Saxii Oiiomast. in Peter.
248 D A M P I E R.
left in that uninhabited place above three years before.
After staying fourteen days at this island, they set sail
April 8, 16S4, steering towards the line, off the islands of
Peru and Chili ; took several prizes, and proceeded to the
Gallipago islands, and from thence to cape Blanco, where
captain Cook was interred. July 19, Mr. Edward Davis
was appointed captain in the room of Cook, sailed the next
day towards Rio Leja, and from thence to the gulph of
Aniapalla ; and Sept. 20th came to an anchor in the island
of Plata, Here they made a descent upon Plata, attacked
the fort, and took it with little opposition. But finding
that the governor and inhabitants had quitted the town,
and carried off their money, goods, and provisions, they
set fire to it, and afterwards sailed for Guaiquil, and at-
tacked it, but without success.
They entered now the bay of Panama : for their design
was to look into some river unfrequented by the Spaniards,
in search of canoes ; and therefore they endeavoured to
make the river St. Jago, on account of its nearness to the
island of Gallo, in which there is much gold, and safe an-
chorage for ships. Dampier with some others, in four
canoes, ventured to row six leagues up the river; but the
Indians, at their approach, got into their canoes, and
paddled away against the stream much faster than they
could follow. They therefore returned the next morning
in order to sail for the island of Gallo ; and in their ^▼ay
took a Spanish pacquet-boat, sent with dis})atches from
Panama to Lima, by which they learned that the armada,
being arrived from Spain at Porto Bello, waited for the
plate fleet from Lima, which made them resolve to ren-
dezvous among the King's or Pearl Islands, by which all
the ships bound to Panama from Lima must necessarily
pass. On May 28th they discovered the Spanish fleet;
but night approaching, they exchanged only a few shot.
The Spanish admiral, by the artifice of a false light, got
the weather-gage of them the next day, and came up to
them with full sail, which obliged them to make a running
fight of it ail round the bay of Panama, and thus their
long-projected design ended unsuccessfully. They sailed
now for ihe island of Quibo, where they found captain
Harris; and as their late attempt at sea had been fruitless,
they resolved to try their fortune by land, by attackmg the
city of Leon, on the coast of Mexico. This place they
took and buri}t, and proceeded to llio Leja, which thev
filfio tooj^.
D A M P I E R. 249
Here Dampier left captain Davis, and went on board
captain Swan, in order to satisfy his curiosity by obtain-
ing^ a more perfect knowledge of the northern parts of
Mexico. They continued sailing to the westward till they
came to Guatuico, one of the best ports in the kingdom of
Mexico ; and from thence to Cape Cerientes, where they
waited some time in hopes of meeting with a galleon, of
whicii tl>ey had received information. They continued
cruizing off this cape till Jan. 1, when their pjovisions
being exhausted, they steered to the valley of Valderas to
procure a supply of beef. And while they were engaged
in this necessary business, the Manilla ship passed by
them to the eastward. After this they steered towards
California, and anchored in one of the Tres Maria islands.
Dampier, having been long sick of a dropsy, was here
buried for about half an hour up to the neck in sand,
which threw him into a profuse sweat; and being after-
wards wrapped up warm, and put to bed in a tent, found
great beneht from this extraordinary remedy.
Their success in this part of the world having been very
indifferent, and there appearing no probability of its mend-
ing. Swan and Dampier agreed to steer their course for
the East Indies. They sailed to St. John's island, and to
the Piscadores, to Bouton island, to New Holland, to
Triest; and arriving at Nicobar, Dampier with others was
left on shore, and treated with great civility by the inha-
bitants. He, however, left them, and arrived at the Eng-
lish factory at Achen, where he became acquainted with
captain Bowry, who would have persuaded him to sail with
him to Persia in quality of boatswain : but he declined ac-
cepting of this proposal, on account of the ill state of his
health. He afterwards engaged with captain Weldon, un-
der whom he made several trading voyages, for upwards
of fifteen months, and afterwards entered as a gunner to
an English factory at Bencoolen. Upon this coast he
;^taid till 1691, and then embarked for England, when he
was obliged to make his escape by creeping through one
of the port-holes, for the governor had revoked his pro-
mise of allowing him to depart; but he brought off his
journal and most valuable papers. He arrived in the
Downs Sept. 16 j and being in want of money, sold his
property in a painted Indian prince, who was carried about
for a sight, and shewn for money. He appears afterv\ards
to have been concerned in an expedition concerted by the
merchants of Bristol to the South Sea, commanded by cap-
250 D A M P I E R.
tain Woodes Rogers, which sailed in Aug. 1708, and re-
turned Sept. 1711; a voyage attended with many singular
circumstances, and a great number of curious and enter-
taining events. We have no further particulars of Dam-
pier's hfe or death. His " Voyage round the Workl" has
gone through many editions, and the substance of it has
been transterred to many collections of voyages. It was
first published in 3 vols. 8vo, Lond. 1697.*
DANCHET (Anthony), a French poet, was born at
Riom in Auvergne in 1671 ; and went to Paris, where he
distinguished himself very early in the republic of letters.
At the age of nineteen he was invited to Chartres, to be
professor of rhetoric ; which office he discharged with high
repute for four years. Upon his return to Paris, he de-
voted his labours entirely to the service of the theatre, for
which he continued to write songs, operas, and tragedies,
to the end of his life. He was admitted a member of the
academy of inscriptions in 1706, and of the French aca-
demy in 1712. He had a place in the king's library, and
died at Paris Feb. 21, 174S. His works were collected and
printed at Paris, 1751, in 4 vols. 12mo. As a man Dan-
chet was highly esteemed for the qualities of his mind, and
the mildness of his temper ; he was sincere, upright, and
disinterested, and was an enemy to every species of satire
and calumny, weapons too frequently used by poets and
men of genius. Of this a singular instance is on record.
One of his rivals having insulted him in a published satire,
Danchet sent him privately an epigrammatic answer of the
severest cast, which he assured him no other person had
seen, and begged him to observe, that it was as easy as
shameful for men of letters to embark in such kind of
warfare. "
DANCKERT, or DANCKERTS, is the name of a fa-
mily of engravers of considerable reputation in Holland.
Cornelius DANCKErsTs, who was born at Amsterdam in
1561, established himself at Antwerp as a print-seller;
but he did not suflfcr this employment to engross his whole
time, as he engraved many portraits, landscapes, and his-
torical pieces, as well from his own comj)ositions as from
the designs of Berghem, Rembrandt, and others. His son,
Danckekt Danckerts, who was born at Antwerp about
» Preceding edit, of ihis Dictionary, taken chiefly from bis Voyage.
* Moreri. — Did. Hist.
D A N C K E R T. 251
IfiOO, also engraved dilTerent subjects, as well from his
own designs as from those of other artists ; and though
}iis pieces are not so numerous as his father's, they sur-
pass them in merit. Danckert combmed the point and
the graver with very great success, and the pieces from
Bergliem and Wouvermanns, which he has wrought in this
manner, are much esteemed.
John Danckerts, of the same family, a designer and
engraver, about 1654- settled at Amsterdam; but being
invited into England, he went to London, where he de-
signed for the EngUsh Juvenal, the plates engraved by
Hollar. This artist also engraved some plates. Henry
Danckerts, his brother, was also bred an engraver, but
afterwards became a landscape-painter. He was bvjrn at
the Hague, but ^at an early age travelled into Italy, from
whence he came to England. Here he enjoyed the favour
of Charles II. who employed him to draw views ot" the
British sea-ports, and royal palaces. Dm-ing the distur-
bances which preceded the abdication of James II. he
quitted E.ngland for Amsterdam, where he died soon after.
The landscajies painted by this artist were numerous, and
are chieHy to be found in England. Amongst them are
Views of Windsor, Plymouth, Penzance, <kc. He also
engraved from Vandyk, Titian, Jacopo Palnm, &c. Jus-
Tcs Danckerts, of the same i'amdy, was a designer, en-
graver, and print-seller, and resided in Amsterdam. .The
following plates bear his name : the Portrait of Casimir,
king of Poland; a ditto of William HI. prince of Orange;
the Harbours of Amsterdam, a set of seven pieces. One
other ot the name remains to be noticed, Cornelius
Danckerts. The circumstance of both Milizia and
Heinecken dating the birth of this architect in 1.561, and
saying that he was born in Amsterdam (the very time and
place of the birth ot" Cornelius Danckerts mentioned above),
leads us to suspect some chronological error, if not, in-
deed, that these two artists were one and the same person.
Cornelius was originally a stonemason, but afterwards ap-
plied himself to architecture. He constructed in the city
of A;nsterJam many public and private buildings, highly
creditable to his talents on account of their l)eauty and
convenience, and, amongst others, three of the princii)al
churches, the exchange, and the gate which leads tj Haar-
lem, the most beautiful of the city. He had a son named
252 D A N C K E R T.
Peter, who was born at Amsterdam in 1605, and after-
wards became painter to Uladislaiis, king of Poland. '
D'ANCOUKT. See ANCOURT.
DANDINI (Hercules Francis), count, and professor
of law at Padua, was born at Ancona in 1696, and arrived
at high reputation as a lawyer. Among his works are, 1.
" De Forensi scrihendi ratione." 2. " De ser\ itutibus
praediorum interpretationes per epistolas," &c. lie died
in November 1747, at the age of fifty-two, lamented on
account of his learning and virtues.'
DANDINI (Jerome), an Italian Jesuit, was born at
Cesena in the ecclesiastical state in 1554, and was the
first of his order who taught philosophy at Paris. He bore
several honourable offices in the society ; for, besides teach-
ing divinity at Padua, he was rector of the several colleges
at Ferrara, Forli, Bologna, Parma, and Milan ; visitor in
the provinces of Venice, Toulouse, and Guienne; provin-
cial in Poland, and in the Milanese. He taught philosophy
in Perugia, 1596, when he was appointed by Clement VIII.
to be his nuncio to the Maronites of mount Lihanus. He
embarked at Venice in July the same year, and returned
to Rome in August the year following. The French trans-
lation which was made of his journey to Mount Libanus
by father Simon, was printed at Paris in 1675, and re-
printed at the Hague in 1685, Dandini's book was printed
at Cesena in 1656, under the title of " Missione aposto-
lica al patriarcha e Maroniti del Monte Libano." It con-
tains the relation of his journey to the Maronites and to
Jerusalem j but father Simon has left out the journey to
Jerusalem in his translation, because, he says, there is
nothing in it but what has been observed by travellers al-
ready. Dandini died at Forli, 1634, aged eighty. His
commentary on the three books of Aristotle " de Anima"
was printed at Paris, 1611, in folio ; and after his death
his " Ethica sacra, de virtutibus et vitiis," was printed at
Cesena, 1651, fol. '
DANDINI (CiCSAR), an historical painter, was born at
Florence in 1595, and v/as the elder brother and first in-
structor of Vincent Dandini, the uncle of Pietro. This
master had successively studied as a disciple with Curradi,
Passignano, and Christofano Allori ; from whom he ac-.
' Strutt. — Walpole.— Rees's Cyclopaedia.
' Fabroni Vitae Italorum. — Diet. Hist. 3 Gen, Diet, — Morefj.
D A N D I N I. 233
<Juired a very pleasing but fugitive manner of colouring.
He was extremely correct in his drawing, and finished iiis
pictures highly. His best altar-piece is at Ancona, and
several other noble altar-pieces in the churches of Flo-
rence are of his hand ; one, which is in the chapel I'An-
nonciata, is particularly admired. He died in 1658. ^
DANDINI (Vincent), brother to the preceding, was
born at Florence in 1607. After having been taught the
first rudiments of his art by his brother, he studied some
time at Rome under Pietro da Cortona, and copied with
the greatest assiduity the master-pieces of art in the palaces
and temples of that city. He was considered one of the
best of Cortona's scholars, and met with ample encourage-
ment from tlie grand duke, as well as from private persons,
on his return to Florence. One of his best altar-pieces,
which are frequent at Florence, is the Conception of the
Virgin, in the church of Ognisanti. ^
DANDINI (RjETRO), an eminent painter, nephew to
the preceding, was born at Florence in 1646, and received
his first instruction in the art of painting from Valerio
iJpada, who excelled in small drawings with a pen. Whilst
he was under the tuition of that artist he gave such evident
proofs of genius, that he was then placed as a disciple with
his uncle Vincent. He afterwards travelled through most
of the cities of Italy, studying the works of those who
were most distinguished ; and resided for a long time at
Venice, where he copied the paintings of Titian, Tinto-
retto, and Paolo Veronese. He next visited Parma and
Modena, to study the works of Correggio ; omitting no
opportunity that might contribute to improve his hand or
his judgment. When he returned to Florence, the grand
duke Cosmo III. the grand duchess Victoria, and the
prince Ferdinand, kept him perpetually em[)loyed, in
fresco painting as well as in oil ; his subjects being taken
not only from sacred or fabulous history, but from his own
invention and fancy, which frequently furnished him with
such as were odd and singular, and especially with whim-
sical caricatures. He died in 1712. — This master had an
extraordinary talent for imitating the style of even the
most celebrated ancient painters of every school, particu-
larly Titian, Veronese, and Tintoretto ; and with a force
and elegance, equal to his subjects of history, he painted
' Pilkipytou. * Laozi. — Rees't CyclopseJia.
254 D A N D I NM.
poi-traits, landscapes, architecture, flowers, fruit, battles,
animals of all kinds, and likewise sea-pieces ; proving
himself an universal artist, and excellent in every thing he
undertook. Mr. Fuseli, however, says that the avidity of
gain led him to dispatch and a general mediocrity, com-
pensated by little more than the a hnirable freedom of his
pencil. He exerted his powers according to the price he
received for his work: thev are seen to advantage in the
cupolas of S. Maria Maddalena, in various frescos of the
ducal palace and villas, and in the public hall of Pisa,
where he represented the taking of Jerusalem. There are
likewise altar-pieces which shew his merit : that of St.
Francis in S. Maria Maggiore, and another of S. Piccolo-
mini saying mass in the church a'Servi, a pleasing ani-
mated performance. He had a son, Octavio, who proved
not inferior to him in any branch of his profession, and
was an honour to his family and his country. '
DANDOLO (Andrew), doge of Venke, merits some
notice here as one of the first historians of his country.
He was born in 1310, and in 1344 became doge, being
not only distinguished for military and political knowledge,
but for considerable attainments in literature. By his
means Venice was first enabled to extend her commerce to
Eg}pt, which, however, had the bad effect of involving
Venice and Genoa in a war, in the course of which he lost
his life in 1354. As an author he is mentioned for his
" Chronicle of Venice," which comprehends the history
of the republic from its foundation to the year 1342 ; and
to him has been ascribed the compilation of the sixth
book of Venetian statutes. His chronicle obtained con-
siderable reputation for impartiality, and for the exhibition
of authentic documents which the author produced to sub-
stantiate his facts. Petrarch, with whom he corresponded,
Blondus, Justinian, Sabellicus, Leander, and Cuspinian,
always niention this Chronicle with praise. It is inserted
in Muratori's collection, with a continuation to 1388, by
Caresino. '
DANDRE-BARDON (Michael Francis), one of the
professors of the academy of painting, &c. was born May
22, 1700, at Aix in Provence, and was first intended for
the study of the law, but disliking it at the outset, he took
* Pilkiniiton, original edit'on, and Fuseli's.
8 Moreri.— Saxii Ouomaslicoa.
DANDRE-BARDON. 255
lessons in painting from Vanloo and De I'roy, and soon
distinguislied himself botii as a painter and as a writer. He
succeeded mure particularly in historical pictures, and un-
doubtedly had an affection for all the arts, was a man of
considerable learning, and in society was sensible, upright,
and friendly. He died at Marseilles, where he was di-
rector of the academy, April 14, 17»3. Some of his
writings gained him much reputation. The principal of them
are, l.*'De I'utilite d'un Cours d'Histoire pour les artistes,"
1751. 2. " Principes du Dessin," 1754, l2mo. 3. *' Anec-
^dotes sur la Mort de Bouchardon," 1764. 4. " Vie de
Carle Vanloo," 1765, 12mo. 5. *' Monumens de la ville
de Reims," 1765, 12mo. 6. " Traite de Peiuture," 1765,
2 vols. 12mo. 7. *' Histoire universelle relative aux arts,"
1769, 3 vols. l-2mo. 8. " Costumes des ancieiis peuples,"
1776, 4to. Tliis curious collection was republished in a
very enlarged form by Cochin, in 4 vols. 1786 and 1792,
4to. Dandre-Bardon wrote also some poetry, but that his
countrymen seem inclined' to forget.'
DANEAU, or DANiEUS (Lambert), an eminent
French protestant divine, was born at Orleans about the
year 1530. Having at first an inclination for the law, he
studied that science in his native city for four years under
Anne du Bourg, then a teacher of high reputation, and
who, after holding the office of clerk of the parliament of
Paris for two years, was strangled and burnt, Dec. 20,
1559, for his adherence to the protestant faith. Affected
by the constancy with which his master suffered, and of
which he appears to have been an eye-witness, and refer-
ring such constancy to its proper source, Daneau embraced
the pri-nciples of the deceased martyr, and the following
year retired to Geneva, where he could enjoy his religion
wnmolested. From this tiuie he gave over all thoughts of
the law, and began the stud}' of divinity, in which he made
such progress as to be acknowledged one of the ablest di-
vines of the protestant persuasion. At Geneva he became
one of their preachers, and professor of divinity. In I5SI
he was invited to Leyden in the same character, and taught
there about a year. He at length returned to France, and
after residing some time at Orthes, finally took up his abode
at Castres, where he exercised the functions of the minis-
try until the year 1596, when he died. His works are very
* Diet. Hist, in art. Bardic,
256 D A N E A U.
numerous. A considerable collection of them Was pab^
Jished by himself at Geneva in 1583, in a large folio volume,
divided into three classes, didactic, exegetic, and polemic.
But, besides these, Nicerou and other authors give a very
large catalogue of separate publications, commentaries on
the Holy Scriptures ; and moral, historical, and geogra-
phical treatises. One of these, *' Pn'mi mundi antiqtiitatum
sectiones quatuor," was published in English by Thomas
Twine, under the title of "The wonderful workmanship
of the World," 1578, 4to. His " Les Sorciers" was also
published here in 1564, under the title, " A Dialogue of
Witches.'"
DANES (PtTER), born in 1497, at Paris, of a noble
family, studied at the college of Navarre, and was the
pupil of Budeus and of John Lascaris. Being appointed
b}' Francis I. to open the Greek school at the college-royal,
he was professor there for five years, and had scholars that
afterwards signalized themselves. He next became pre-
ceptor and confessor to the dauphin, afterwards Francis H.
He was sent to the council of Trent, where he delivered a
very celebrated speech in 1546, which was afterwards pub-
lished ; and during the session of this council he was made
bishop of Lavaur, Sponde and de Thou have handed down
to us an ingenious answer of this prelate. Nicholas
Pseaume, bishop of Verdun, sjieaking very freely one day
in the council, the bishop of Orvietta looking at the
French, said to them with a sarcastic smile, " Gallus can-
tat," (the cock crows), " Utinam," replied Danes, " ad
istud Gallicinium Petrus resipisceret !" (I wish that Peter
would repent at this cock's crowing.) This prelate died at
Paris the 23d of April, 1577, at the age of 80. He had
been married. When news was brought him of the death
of his only son, he retired for a moment into his closet ;
and, on rejoining the company, " Let us be comforted,"
said he, " the poor have gained their cause," alluding to
liis being wont to distribute a part of his revenues among
the poor, which he now thought he might increase. With
the erudition of a true scholar he had the talent of speaking
well, integrity of character, and a great simplicity of man-
ners. His custom was to write much, and almost always
to conceal his name. It has been suspected by some
• Melchior Adam. — Nieeron, vol. XXVII. — Frehcri Th«atnim. — Bailj^et-
J»Jj(eiueiis.— Morcii.— Saxii Onoinasticoov
DANES. 257
critics that the tenth book of the history of France, by
Paulus ^milius, is his. At least it was Danes who sent it
from Venice to the printer Vascosan. His " Opuscuia"
were collected and printed in 1731, 4to, by the car^ of
Peter Hilary Danes, of the same family with the bishop of
Lavaur, who added the life of the author. The ahbe
Lenglet du Fresnoi attributes to P. Danes, two Apologies
for king Henry II. printed in Latin in 1542, 4to. One
publication of Danes's merits particular notice, viz. aa
edition of Pliny the elder, very beautiful and correct,
Paris, 1532, folio. This, for whatever reason, bethought
proper to publish under the name of Bellocirius, i. e. Bel-
letiere, the name of one of his servants. The short and
elegant preface, so highly praised by Rezzonicus in his
*' Disquisitiones Pliniani," is to be found among our author's
" Opuscula." This edition is so rare on the continent that
Rezzonicus was able to find only two copies of it in Spain,
and not a single one in Italy ; and Ernesti pronounces it
as valuable as it is rare. '
DANET (Petek), a French cure at Paris, and after-
wards abbe of St. Nicholas de Verdun, of which he took
possession in 1674, devoted the principal part of his life to
grammatical studies, and produced some works which at
that time were important to the literature of his countr}-.
His first publication appeared under the title of " Radices
Lingute Latinie," 8vo, a work somewhat incorrectly printed,
which was followed by his two Dictionaries, both in 4to,
French and Latin, and Latin and French, in which the
Latin part was considered as best executed. Although
both have been supplanted by works more ample and
accurate, they could not fail at that time of facilitating the
study of the Latin among his countrymen. He published
also, " Dictionarium antiquitatum Romanarum et Grseca-
rum," for the use of the dauphin, Paris, 1698 and 1701,
4to, and published in English at London in 1700. Danet
being one of the scholars appointed as editors of the Del-
phin classics, produced the Phoedrus, which, although it
has been often printed, is reckoned inferior to the subse-
quent editions. He died at Paris in 1709. His contem-
porary Baillet has spoken with great candour of all his
publications.*
> Niceron, vol. XIX. — Moreri. — Fieheri Theatrum. — Dibd'm's Classics.-*
Saxii Oiiomasticon.
2 Moreri. — Diet, Hist. — Baillet Jugemens,
Vol. XI. S
25S D A N G E A U.
DANGEAU (Louis Courcillon de), a French abbe,
and a man of family, was the son of Louis de Courcillon,
lord of Dangeau, &c. by a daughter of the celebrated Ples-
sis-JMotnay. He was born in January 1643, and educated
in the protestant religion, which was that of his family, and
which he professed in 1667, when envoy extraordinary in
Poland ; but he was afterwards induced to become a Ro-
man catholic, and entered into the church, in which he
held some benefices, although none of such importance as
might have been expected from his merits and family in-
terest. In 1671 he purchased the office of reader to the
king, which he sold again in 1685. In 1680 the king-
gave him the abbey of Fontaine- Daniel, and in 1710 that
of Clermont, and he was also prior of Gournay and St.
Anioul. He devoted himself, however, principally to the
belles lettres, the study of which he endeavoured to faci-
litate by various new modes of instruction, some of which
were successful, and others rather whimsical. In the same
wa}', by some new expedients, he endeavoured to increase
the knowledge of history, geography, heraldry, grammar,
&c. and his services were so highly esteemed, that in 1682
he was admitted into the French academy, and in 1698
into that of the Ricovrati of Padua. His own house, in-
deed, was a species of academ}', where men of taste and
learning were invited to assemble once a week for conver-
sation. The abbe Dangeau was an accomplished scholar :
besides the sciences we have mentioned, he knew Greek,
Latin, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, German, &c. Being
admitted into the confidence of his sovereign, he took fre-
quent opportunities to promote learning and learned men,
and along with his brother the n)arquis Dangeau estab-
lished a school for the education of young men of family,
the superintendance of which he took upon himself; but
this did not last above ten years, the wars having obliged
the king to withdraw the pecuniar3- assistance he had given,
a striking proof of the necessities to which Louis XIV. was
sometimes driven by his ambition. He died Jan. 1, 1723,
leaving the character of aman whose virtues were superior to
his knowledge, extensive as the latter was. "His huuianity
towards the sons and dan<ihters of misfortune was such
(says his eulogist M. d'Alembert), that, with but a mode-
rate fortune, lie was lavish of his bounty towards the poor,
and added to his benefits the more uncommon benefit of
concealing them. He possessed that prudent oeconomy.
t) A N G E A U. 259
xt'ithout which there can he no generosity ; and which,
rtever dissipating for the sake of giving continually, is
always giving with propriety. His heart was formed for
friendshij), and for that reason he was not careless in be-
stowing it; but when once it was obtained, it was settled
for ever. It" he had any defect, it was perhaps too much
indulgence for the faults and weaknesi-es of mankinti ; a
defect, which by its scarceness is almost a virtue, and of
which few persons have to reproach themselves, even in
regard to their friends. He possessed in the highest de-
gree that knowledge of the worUl and of man, which nei-
ther books nor genius ever gave the philosopher, while
neglecting the commerce of liis fellow creatures. Enjoy-
ing the esteem and the confidence of all the great men in
the kingdom, no one had better advice to give in the most
important affairs. He kept inviolably the secrets of others
as well as his own. Yet his generous, delicate, and honest
soul disdained dissimulation, and his prudence was too en-
lightened to be mistaken for artifice. Easy and affable in
company, but preferring truth in all things, he never dis-
puted except in its defence : accordingly the lively inte-
rest he shewed for truth on all such occasions gave him in
the eyes of the generality an air of obstinacy, which truth
is much less likely to find among mankind than a cold and
criminal indifference."
He wrote above an hundred treatises on different sub-
jects of history, grammar, geography, &c. the greater part
of which remained in manuscript, and of those which were
published, many soon became very scarce, as it was his
custom to print only a few copies for distribution among
his friends. 1. " Quatre Dialogues," on the immortality
of the soul, the existence of God, Sec. Paris, 1684, 12mo,
with a vignette of Sebastian le Cierc to each dialogue.
This was animadverted upon by the celebrated Jurieu in
" Apologie d'un tour nouveau pour les Quatre Dialogues,
&c." Cologne (the Hague), 1685. 2. " Cartes Geogra-
phiques. Tables Chronologiques, Tables Genealogiques,
&c." 1693, 12mo. 3. " Lettre sur I'ortographe aM.de
Poutchartrain," 1693, I2mo. 4. "Reflexions sur toutes
les parties de la Grammaire," 1694, 12mo. In this and
the preceding, he attempts some new modes of spelling,
which have never been adopted. 5. " Nouvelle methods
de Geographic histonque, &c." 1697, folio. 6. " Les
principes du Blason en quatorze planches," Paris, 1709,
S 3
260 D A N G E A U.
11
folio, reprinted in 1715, 4to. 7. " Essais de Grammaire,
1711, 8vo. 8. " Reflexions sur la Grammaire Frangoise,'*
1717, Svo, with some other treatises on the same subjects :
he also invented a historical game of the kings of France,
somewhat like what have lately been introduced in our
schools. The best of the above treatises were reprinted
by the abbe Olivet in 1734, under the title of " Opuscules
sur la langue Fran9aise." *
DANGEAU (Philip de Courcillon, Marquis de),
brother of the preceding, was born in 1638. The endow-
ments of his mind and person advanced him at the court of
Louis XIV. and his decided taste for literature obtained
him a place in the French academy, and in that of sciences.
He died at Paris in 1720, at the age of eighty-two, privy-
councillor, knight of several orders, grand-master of the
royal and military order of Notre Dame du Mont Carmel,
and of St. Lazare de Jerusalem. On being invested with
this last dignity, he paid greater attention than had been
before shewn to the choice of the chevaliers, and revived
the ancient pomp at their reception, which the wits endea-
voured to turn into ridicule. But what was superior to
all ridicule was, that by his care he procured the foun-
dation of upwards of twenty-five commanderies, and em-
ployed the revenues of the office of grand-master, to the
education of twelve young gentlemen of the best nobility
of the kingdom, as has been mentioned in our account of
Lis brother. At the court (says Fontenelle), where there
is but little faith in probity and virtue, he always preserved
his reputation clear and entire. His conversation, his
manners, all savoured of a politeness which was far less
that of a man of fashion, than of a friendly and obliging
person. His wish at all times to play the part of a grandee,
might have been passed over, on account of the worthiness
of his character. Madame de Montespan, who thought
him not qualified exactly for that, said rather tartly, that
it Wcis impossible not to love him, and not to laugh at him.
His first wife was Frances Morin, sister to the marechal
d'Estrees, and his second the countess de Louvestein, of
the palatine house. There are extant by the marquis de
Dangeau, memoirs in manuscript, from whence Voltaire,
Henault, and la Beaumelle, have taken many curious anec-
dotes ', but it was not always Dangeau, says Voltaire, who
* Moreri in Courcillou, — Niceron. — Eloges by D'Alembert.
D A N G E A U. 261
made these memoirs : " It was (according to this satirist)
an old stupid valet-de-chambre, who thought proper to
make manuscript gazettes of all the nonsense, right or
wrong, that he could pick up in the anti-chambers," by
which Vohaire woukl insinuate that the memoirs which
bear the name of the marquis de Dangeau are to be read
with caution. There is another Httle work of his, also in
manuscript, in which he gives the picture of Louis XIV.
in a very interesting mannfer, such as he was among his
courtiers. '
DANICAN. See PHILIDOR.
DANIEL (Arnaud), so in Moreri, but in other French
biographical works placed under Arnaud, one of the trou-
badours of the twelfth century, was born of noble parents,
in the castle of Ribeyrac, in Pevigord. If we may judge
of his merit by his works which have descended to us, it
would be difficult to give him the preference to his bre-
thren in that century, yet the old Italian critics assign him
the first place. Dante in particular speaks of him as the
best writer of tender verses in the Proven^-al language, and
seems equally partial to the prose part of his romances ;
Petrarch also, who places him at the head of the Provencal
poets, calls him the great master of love, and has honoured
him so far as to conclude one of his own stanzas with a
verse from Arnaud. It has, however, been doubted whe-
ther this verse be the production of Arnaud, and Crescim-
beni has employed a long digression in discussing the ques-
tion. The best, however, of Arnaud's productions must
have been lost, for what remain by no means support the
character which Dante and Petrarch have given of him.
He has the credit of inventing that species of composition
called the sestine, and attached great importance to rhyrpe.
Besides his poetical talents, he had musical skill, and com-
posed some of his own songs. MilloL speaks of having
seen seventeen pieces by Arnaud, and there are eight in
the imperial library at Paris, with a life of him. One of
his works is entitled '* Fantaumasias del Paganisme." He
is supposed to have died about llSy.**
DANIEL (Gabriel), a very ingenious and learned
Frenchman, was born at Roan, Feb. 8, 1649; and in Sept.
1667, entered as a novitiate into the society of the Jesuits,
' Moreri in Courcillon.
^ Moreri in Daniel,— Biog. Universelle, and Diet, Hist, iu Arnaud.
?63 DANIEL.
He read lectures upon polite literature, upon philosophy,
and theology, at several places in the early part of his life
by the desire of his superiors, after which he appears to
have devoted his time to his historical and controversial
works. One of his earliest productions was his *' Voyage
to the world of Descartes," a satirical confutation of the
Cartesian philosophy, under the appearance of a romance,
which was so well received, that it was soon translated into
several languages ; into English, into Italian, &c. It has
underQ:one several editions, which have been revised and
enlarged by the author ; and to that printed in 1703 there
were added, by way of supplement, two or three pieces,
which have a connection with the subject. They are en-
titled, " New diflficulties proposed to the author of the
Voyage," &c. concerning the consciousness or perception
of brutes : with a refutation of two defences of Descartes' ai
general system of the world.
But the work which will longest perpetuate the name of.
father Daniel, is, " The History of France," published at
Paris, 1713, in 3 vols. fol. a second edition of which he
brought out at Paris, 1722, in 7 vols. 4to, revised, cor-
rected, augmented, and enriched with several authentic
medals ; and a very pompous edition of it was afterwards
published, with a continuation, but in the way of annals
only, from the death of Henry IV. in 1610, where father
Daniel stopped, to the end of Lewis XIV. He was the
author of some other works ; of an answer to the Provincial
Letters, entitled 1. Dialogues between Cleander and Eu-
doxus. This book in less than two years ran through
twelve editions ; it was translated into Latin by father Ju-
venci ; and afterwards into Italian, English, and Spanish,
but it is a weak attack, after ail, on Pascal. 2. Two
letters of M. Abbot to Eudoxus, by way of remarks upon
the new apology for the Provincial Letters. 3. Ten letters
to father Alexander, in which he draws a parallel between
the doctrine of the Thomists and the Jesuits, upon the
subjects of probability and grace. 4. The system of Lewis
de Leon concerning the sacrament. 5. A defence of St.
Augustin against a book supposed to be written by Launoi.
6. Four letters upon the argument of the book entitled A
defence of St. Augustin. 7. A theological tract, touching
the efficacy of grace, in two volumes. In the second vo-
lume, he answers Serry's book, entitled " Schola Thoniis^
tica vindicata," a remonstrance to the lord archbishop of
DANIEL. 263
Hheims, occasioned by his order published July 15, 1697.
This performance of father Daniel's was often primed, and
also translated by Juvenci into Latin. He piihlished other
smaller works, which were all collected and printed in
3 vols. 4to.
Father Daniel was superior of the Jesuits at Paris, and
died there June 23, 1728. By his death, that society
lost one of the greatest ornaments they ever had. His
*' History," to which Voltaire and some modern French
critics have objected, and his " Histoire de la Milice Fran-
^oise," 2 vols. 4to, although equally liable to censure on
account of its prolixity, are works which gave him a very
hiffh rank amouij French historians. The best edition of
his hi.story is that of 1757, 17 vols. 4to. *
DANIEL (Peteu), a scholar and antiquary of the six-
teenth century, was an advocate at Orleans, where he
mostly resided, and assessor to the abbey of St. Benoit-
sur- Loire, which he was frequently obliged to visit, in the
discharge of his office. His laste for polite literature, and
general reputation for such learning as was not very com-
mon in his time, recommended him to the esteem of the
cardinal de Chatillon, a liberal Maecenas of that age. The
abbey of St. Benoit having been pillaged during the war
in 1562, Daniel with great difficulty saved some manu-
scripts, and purchased others from the soldiers, and re-
moved them to Orleans. Among these was the Commen-
tary of Servius on Virgil, which he published in 1600;
and the " Aulularia" of Plautus, which he liad printed im-
mediately after rescuing these MSS. in 1564. He pre-
pared also an edition of Petronius, but it was not published
until 1629, after his death. This event took place at
Paris, in 1603, when his friends Paul Petau, and James
Bongars, purchased his library for 1500 livrcs, and di-
vided the MSS. between them. Among other eminent men,
Daniel was particularly intimate with Buchanan, and has
been highly praised by Scioppius, Scaliger, and Turnebus."
DANIEL (Samuel), an English poet and historian, the
son of a music-master, was born near Taunton, in Somer-
setshire, in 1562. In 1579 he was admitted a conunoner
of Magdalen-hall, Oxford, where he continued about three
years, and by the help of an excellent tutor, made con-
> Moreri. — Diet. Hist.
i* Moreri. — Irving's ^lemoirs of Buchanan. — Baillet JugenaeiM.
264. DANIEL.
siderable improvement in academical studies. He left th«
iiniversity, however, witliout taking a degree, and pursued
the study of history and poetry under the patronage of the
earl of Pembroke's family. This he thankfully acknow-
ledges in his " Defence of Rhime," which is printed in
the late edition of his works, as a necessary document to
illustrate the ideas of poetry entertained in his time. To
the same family he was probably indebted for an university
education, as no notice occurs of his father, who, if a
music-master, could not well have escaped the researches
of Dr. Barney. The first of his productions, at the age
of twenty- three, was a translation of Paulus Jovius's " Dis-
course of Rare Inventions, both military and amorous,
called Imprese," London, 1585, 8vo, to which he pre-
fixed an ingenious preface. He afterwards became tutor
to the lady Anne Clifford, sole daughter and heiress to
George, earl of Cumberland, a lady of very high accom-
plishments, spirit, and intrepidity. To her, when at the
age of thirteen, he addressed a delicate admonitory epistle.
She was married, first to Richard, earl of Dorset, and af-
terwards to the earl of Pembroke, " that memorable sim-
pleton," says lord Orford, " with whom Butler has so
much diverted himself" The pillar which she erected im
the county of Westmoreland, on the road-side between
Penrith and Appleby, the spot where she took her last
leave of her mother,
still records, beyond a pencil's power.
The silent sorrows of a parting hour ;
Still to the musing pilgrim points the place
Her sainted spirit most delights to trace."
Among her other munificent acts, was a monument to the
memory of our poet, on which she caused it to be en-
graven that she had been his pupil ; a circumstance which
she seems to have remembered with delight, at the dis-
tance of more than half a century after his decease.
At the death of Spenser, Daniel, according to Anthony
Wood, was appointed poet-laureat to queen Elizabeth ;
but Mr. Malone, whose researches lead to more decisive
accuracy, considers him only as a volunteer laureat, like
Jonson, Dckker, and others who furnished the court with
masks and pageants. In king James's reign he was made
gentleman extraordinary, and afterwards one of the grooms
of the privy-chamber to the queen consort, who took great
delight in his conversation and writings. Some of his bio-
DANIEL. 265
graphers attribute this promotion to the interest of his
brother-in-law, liorio, the Itahan lexicographer, but it is
perhaps more probable that he owed it to the Pembroke
family. Mrs. Cooper, in her Muses' Library, observes,
that in the introduction to his poem on the civil wars, he
acknowledges the friendship of one of the noble family of
Mountjoy ; and this, adds our female critic, is the more
grateful and sincere, as it was published after the death of
his benefactor. He now rented a small house and garden
in Old-street, in the parish of St. Luke's, London, where
he conijiosed most of his dramatic ])ieces, and enjoyed the
friendship of Shakspeare, Marlowe, and Chapman, as well
as of many persons of rank ; but he appears to have been
dissatisfied with the opinions entertained of his poetical
talents ; and towards the end of his life retired to a farm,
which he had at Beckington, near Philips-Norton, in So-
mersetshire, and where, after some time devoted to study
and contemplation, he died, and was buried Oct. 14, 1619.
He had been married to his wife Justina, several years, but
left no issue.
Of Daniel's personal history we know little, but the in-
ferences to be drawn from his works are highly favourable.
He is much praised by his contemporaries, although chiefly
with a view to his genius. Edmund Bolton, in a criticism
on the style of our poets before 1600, says, *' The works
of Samuel Daniel containe somewhat aflat, but yet withal
a very pure and copious English, and words as warrantable
as any man's, and fitter perhaps for prose than measure;'*
and Gabriel Harvey, in his " Foure Letters and Certaine
Sonnets," cordially recommends him, with others, for his
studious endeavours to enrich and polish his native tongue.
Fuller's account, who lived near enough to the time of
his death to have known something of his character, is
worth transcribing:
" He was born not far from Taunton, in this county
(Somersetshire), whose father was a master of musick ; and
his harmonious mind made an impression on his son's ge-
nius, who proved an exquisite poet. He car'ied in his
Christian and surname, two holy prophets, his monitors so
to qualify his raptures, that he abhorred all prophaneness.
He was also a judicious historian, witness his Lives of our
English kings since the conquest, until king Edward IlL
wherein he hath the happiness to reconcile brevity with
clearness, qualities of great distance in other authors. He
was a servant in ordinary to queen Aune, who allowed him
S66 DANIEL.
a fair salary. Arthe tortoise burieth himself all the winter
under the ground, so Mr. Daniel would lye hid at his
garden-house in Old-street, nigh London, for some months
together (the more retiredly to enjoy the company of the
muses) and then would appear in publick, to converse with
his friends, whereof Dr. Cowel and Mr. Camden were
principal. Some tax him to smack of the old cask, as re-
senting of the Romish religion, but they have a quicker
palate than I, who can make any such discovery. Li his
old age he turned husbandman, and rented a farm in ^V'ilt-
shire, nigh the Devizes. I can give no account how he
thrived thereupon. For though he was well versed in
Virgil, his fellow-husbandman-poet, yet there is more re-
quired to make a rich farmer, than only to say his Georgics
by heart; and I question whether his Italian will fit our
English husbandry. Besides, I suspect that Mr. Daniel
his fancy was too fine and sublimated to be wrought down
to his private profit."
His works consist of: 1. '' The Complaint of Rosa-
mond," Lond. 1594, 1598, 1611, and 1623, 4to. 2. Va-
rious " Sonnets" to Delia, 'i. " Tragedy of Cleopatra,"
Lond. 1594, 1598, 4to. 4. *« Of the Civil Wars between
the houses of Lancaster and York," Lond. 1604, 1609,
8vo, and 1623, 4to. 5. " The Vision of the Twelve God-
desses, presented in a Mask," &c. London, 1604, Svo,
and 1623, 4to. 6. " Panegyric congratulatory," delivered
to king James at Burleigh Harrington, in Rutlandshire,
Lond. 1604 and 1623, 4to. 7. " Epistles" to various
great personages, in verse, Lond. 1601 and 1623, 4to. 8.
" Musophilus, containing a general Defence of Learning,"
prmted with the former. 9. " Tragedy of " Philotas,"
Lond. 1611, &c. Svo. 10. " Hymen's Triumph ; a pastoral
tragi-comedy," at the nuptials of lord Roxborough, Lond.
1623, 4to, 2d edit. 11." Musa," or a Defence of Rhyme,
Lond. 1611, Svo. 12. The " Epistle of Octavia to M. Anto-
nius," Lond. 1611, Svo. 1 3. The first part of the " History
of England," in three books, Lond. 1613, 4to, reaching to
the end of king Stephen, in prose ; to which he afterwards
added a second part, reaching to the end of king Edward
III.. Lond. 1618, 1621, 1623, and 1634, folio, continued to
the end of king Richard HL by John Trussel, some time a
Winchester scholar, afterwards a trader and alderman of
that city. 14. " The Queen's Arcadia," a pastoral tragi-
comedy, 1605, 1623, Lond. 4to. i5. " Funeral poem
on the Death of the earl of Devon," Lond. 1623, 4to. In
DANIEL. 267
the same year his poetical works were published in 4to, by
his bioilier John Daniel.
The editor of PhiUips's Theatrnm (1800) to whom we
are indebted for the above hst, adds, tiiat " the character
of Daniel's genius seems to be propriety, rather than ele-
vation. His language is generally pure and harmonious ;
and his reflections are just. But his thoughts are too ab-
stract, and aj)peal rather to tlie understanding than to the
imagination or the heart; and he wanted the fire necessary
for the loftier flights of poetry."
Mr. Headly, who appears to have studied his works with
much attention, thus appreciates his merit : " Though
very rarely sublime, he has skill in the pathetic ; and his
pages are disgraced with neither pedantry nor conceit.
We find, both in his poetry and prose, such a legitimate
and rational flow of language as approaches nearer tiie style
of the 18th than the 16th century, and of which we may
safely assert, tliat it never will become obsolete. He cer-
tainly was the Atticus of his day. It seems to have been
his error to have entertained too great a diffidence of his own
abilities. Constantly contented with the sedate propriety of
good sense, which he no sooner attains than he seems to
rest satisfied, though his resources, had he but made the ef-
fort, would have carried him much farther. In thus escaping
censure, he is not always entitled to praise. From not
endeavouring to be great, he sometimes misses of being re-
spectable. The constitution of his mind seems often to
have failed him in the sultry and exhausting regions of the
muses ; for though generally neat, easy, and perspicuous,
he too frequently grows slack, languid, and enervated.
In perusing his long historical poem, we grow sleepy at
the dead ebb of his narrative, notwithstanding being occa-
sionally relieved with some touches of the pathetic. Un-
fortunate in the choice of his subject, he seems fearful of
supplying its defects by digressional embellishment ; in-
stead of fixing upon one of a more fanciful cast, which the
natural coolness of his judgment would necessarily have
corrected, he has cooped himself up within the limited
and naiTovv pale of dry events ; instead of casting his eye
on the general history of human nature, and giving his
genius a range over her immeasurable fields, he has con-
fined himself to an abstract diary of fortune; instead of
presenting us with pictures of truth from the effects of the
passions, he has versified the truth of action only j he has
2G8 DANIEL.
sufficiently, therefore, shown the historian, but by no
means the poet. For, to use a sentiment of sir William
Davenant's, ' Truth narrative and past is the idol of his-
torians, (who worship a dead thing) ; and truth operative,
and by its effects continually alive, is the mistress of poets,
who hath not her existence in matter, but in reason.'
Daniel has often the softness of Rowe without his effemi-
nacy. In his Complaint of Cleopatra, he has caught
Ovid's manner very happily, as he has no obscurities
either of style or language, neither pedantry nor affecta-
tion, all of which have concurred in banishing from use
the works of his contemporaries. The oblivion he has met
with is peculiarly undeserved; he has shared their fate,
though innocent of their faults."
The justice of these remarks cannot be disproved, al-
thouorh some of them are rather too liorurative for sober
criticism, Daniel's fatal error was in chusing history in-
stead of fiction ; yet in his lesser pieces, and particularly
in his sonnets, are many striking poetical beauties ; and
his language is every where so much more harmonious than
that of his contemporaries, that he deserves a place in
every collection of English poetry, as one vvho had the
taste or genius to anticipate the improvements of a more
refined age. As a dramatic writer, he has been praised
for his adherence to the models of antiquit}^, but whoever
attempts this, attempts what has ever been found repugnant
to the constitution of the English Theatre.'
DANKERS. See DANCKERTS.
DANTE (Alighieri), an illustrious Italian poet, de-
scended from one of the first families of Florence, of the
name of Caccia Guida. Alighieri was the surname of the
maternal line, natives of Ferrara, so called from a golden
wing which the family bore on their arms. He was born
in 1265, a little after the return of the Guelfs or pope's
faction, who had been exiled fiom their native country in
consequence of the defeat at Monte Aperte. The superi-
ority of his genius appeared early, and if we may credit
his biographer Boccaccio, his amorous disposition appeared
almost as soon. His passion for the lady whom he has ce-
lebrated in his poem b}'^ the name of Beatrice, is said to
have commenced at nine years of age- She was the
daughter of Foleo Portinari, a noble citizen of Florence.
> Biog. Erit. — Johnson and Chalmers's English Poets, 1810.
DANTE. 269
His passion seems to have been of the platonic kind, ac-
coaUng to the account he gives of it in his " Vita Nuova,"
one of his earhest productions. The lady died at the age
of twenty-six ; and Dante, affected by the afflicting event,
fell into a profound melancholy, to cure which his friends
recommended matrimony. Dante took their advice, but
was unfortunate in choosing a lady of a termagant temper,
from whom he found it necessary to separate, but not until
they had lived miserably for a considerable time, during
which she bore him several children. Either at this period,
or after the death of his first mistress, he seems by his own
account to have fallen into a profligate course of life, from
which he was rescued by the prayers of his mistress, now
a saint, who prevailed on the spirit of Virgil to attend hirti
through the infernal regions. It is not easy to reduce this
account to matter of fact, nor is it very clear indeed whe-
ther his reigning vice was profligacy, or ambition of worldly
honours. It is certain, however, that he possessed this
ambition, and had reason to repent of it.
He had already conceived notions of military glor\-, and
had distinguished himself by his bravery in an action where
the Florentines obtained a signal victory at Arezzo. This,
joined with his acknowledged learning, prepared the way
for his advancement to the first honours of the state. Italy,
at that time, was distracted between the factions of the
Guelfs, or partizans of the pope, and the Ghibellines,
who adhered to the emperor. After many revolutions, the
Guelfs had got the superiority in Florence; and in 1300
Dante, with several colleagues, was elected prior, the first
executive office in the republic of Florence, and from this
he is said to have dated all his misfortunes. Although the
faction of the Ghibellines seemed totally extinct, an unin-
terrupted flow of ten years prosperity was attended with
consequences more fatal to the Guelfs than all their past
misfortunes. The two noble families of the Cherchi and
Donati had been engaged in a quarrel of old standing,
and now had recourse to arms, in consequence of a dispute
between two branches of the family of Cancelieri, of Pis-
toia. The rival factions had distinguished themselves by
the names of the blacks and the whites, i. e. the Neri and
the Bianchi. Donati, from an old attachment to the part of
the Cancelieri, called the blacks, joined their faction, which
immediately determ-aed the Cherchi to join the whites ;
and in order to put an end to the quarrel, Dante and his
270 DANTE.
colleagues, ordered the heads of the opposite factions td
remove from Pistoia to Florence, the consequence of which
was, that all the noble families of Florence ranged them-
selves with the one or the other, and even the lower order
of the citizens became partizans. At last, at a secret
meeting of the blacks, Carso Douati proposed to apply to
pope Boniface VIII. to terminate these intestine broils, by
sending Charles of Valois of the blood royal of France.
The whites, having learned this, assembled in arms, and
clamoured loudly against the project, and Dante was so
dissatisfied with it, that from that moment it is probable
he took a decided part against the black faction.
To preserve, however, the appearance of impartiality,
he and his colleagues, gaining the multitude on their side,
ordered the leaders of both parties, Donati and Cherchi,
into confinement ; but Dante's real sentiments soon ap-
peared : the whites were set at liberty, and the blacks re-
mained in bonds or in exile, and although Dante's priorate
had expired before the whites were released, the measure
was attributed to his influence. This appearance of par-
tiality gave the wished for pretext to Boniface to send
Charles of Valois to Florence, who, after producing a letter
pretended to be written by some of the leaders of the
whites, offering to corrupt his integrity in their favour,
recalled the«exiles of the black faction, and banished their
opponents. Dante was at this time at Rome soliciting the
pope to conciliate the two parties, and finding his solicita-
tions in vain, returned, and found the sentence of exile
passed upon him, his possessions confiscated, and his house
razed to the foundation. This news met him at Siena,
where he was soon joined by a numerous body of exiles,
who formed themselves into an army, and after making-
some unsuccessful efforts to enter their native city by
force, which they repeated for four years, were obliged to
disperse.
Dante first found a patron in the great Cane de la Scala,
prince of Verona, whom he has celebrated in the first
canto of the Inferno ; but his high spirit was ill-suited to
courtly dependance ; and it is very probable he lost the
favour of the prince by the frankness of his behaviour. Of
this an instance is given in several autliors. The dispo-
sition of the poet, in the latter part of his life, had ac-
quired a strong tincture of melancholy, which made him
less acceptable in the gay court of Verona, where probably
D A N T R 271
a poet was only thouglit a character fit to find frivolous
amusements for his patron. A common jester, or buffoon
(a noted })ersonage in those days), eclipsed the character
of the bard, and neither the variety of his learning, nor
the sublimity of his genius, stood him in any stead. Cane,
the prince, perceived that he was hurt by it ; and, instead
of altering his mode of treatment, very ungenerously ex-
asperated his resentment, by observing one day in public
company, that it was very extraordinary, that the jester,
whom ever one knew to be a worthless fellow, should be
so much auiiiired by him, and all his court ; while Dante,
a man unparalleled in learning, genius, and integrity, was
universally neglected. " You will cease to wonder (says
Dante), when you consider that similarity of manners is
the strongest bond of attachment." It does not ajjpear
whether the prince resented this answer, which he surely
must have felt ; but it is certain that the prince endea-
voured to make the poet an occasional object of merriment
in some very low instances, and Dante condescended to
meet him even in that humble species of wit. Dante,
however, soon found it necessary to seek his fortune else-
where, and from Verona he retired to France, according
to Manetti ; and Boccaccio affirms that he disputed in the
theological schools of Paris with great reputation, which
Boccaccio had a much better o])|)ortU!iity of knowing than
Bayle, who takes upon him to question the fact.
Dante's first prospect of better fortune opened in 1308,
when Henry, count of Luxemburgh was raised to the em-
pire. In hopes of being restored to his native country, he
attached himself to the interests of the new emperor, in
whose service he is sup]:)osed to have written his Latin
work " De Monarchia," in which he asserts the rights of
the empire against the encroachments of the papacy. In
1311, he instigated the emperor to lay siege to Florence,
in which enterprize, says one of his biographers, ho did
not chuse to appear in person, from motives of respect to
his native country. But the emperor was repulsed by the
Florentines; and his death, which happened next year,
deprived Dante of all hopes of re-establishment in his na-
tive country. After this disappointment he is supposed to
have spent several years in roving about Italy, in a state of
poverty and dependance ; till he found an honourable
establishment at Ravenna, by the friendship of Guido No-
vello de Polenta, lord of that place, who received this
272 DANTE.
illustrious exile with the most endearing liberality, con-
tinued to protect him during the few remaining years of
his life, and extended his munificence even to the ashes of
the poet.
Eloquence was one of the many talents which Dante
possessed in an eminent degree ; on this account he is said
to have been employed in fourteen different embassies
during the course of his life, and to have succeeded in
most of them. His patron Guido had occasion to try his
abilities in a service of this nature, and dispatched him as
his ambassador, to negociate a peace with the Venetians,
who were preparing for hostilities against Ravenna. Ma-
netti asserts that he was unable to procure a public
audience at Venice, and returned to Ravenna by land,
from his apprehension of the Venetian fleet. But the fa-
tigue of his journey, and the mortincaiion of having failed
in his attempt to preserve his generous patron from the
impending danger, threw him into a fever, which terminated
in death. He died Sept. 14, 1321, in the palace of Guido,
who paid the most tender regard to his memory. This
magnificent patron, says Boccaccio, commanded the body
to be adorned with poetical ornaments; and after being
carried on a bier through the principal streets of Ravenna,
by the most illustrious citizens, to be deposited in a mar-
ble coffin. He pronounced himself the funeral oration,
and expressed his design of erecting a most splendid mo-
nument, in honour of the deceased ; a design, which his
subsequent misfortunes rendered him unable to accomplish.
At his request, however, many epitaphs were written on
the poet. The best of them, says Boccaccio, was by
Giovanni di Viro-ilio, of Boloo;na, a famous author of the
time, and the intimate friend of Dante. Bernardo Bembo,
the father of the celebrated cardinal, raised a handsome
monument over the neglected ashes of the poet, with a
Latin inscription ; but before this, the Florentines had
vainly endeavoured to gain the bones of their great poet
from the city of Ravenna. In the age of Leo X. they made
a second attempt, by a solemn application to the pope for
that purpose ; and Michael Angelo, an enthusiastic ad-
mirer of Dante, very liberally ottered to execute a magni-
ficent monument to the poet, but the hopes of the Floren-
tines were again unsuccessful.
Dante is described by Boccaccio, as a man of middle
stature i his demeanour was solemn, and his walk slow;
DANTE. 273
his dress suitable to his age and rank ; his visage lono-, his
nose aquiline, his eyes tull, his cheek-bones lar"e, and
tipper lip a little projecting over the under one; his com-
plexion was olive, his hair and beard thick and curled. This
gave him that singularity of aspect, which made his ene-
mies observe, that he looked like one who had visited the
infernal regions. His deportment, both in public and pri-
vate life, was regular and exemplary, and his moderation
in eatini; and drinking remarkable.
His fanie rests on his " Divina Commedia," unquestion-
ably a great and singular, but very unequal work. At
vvhat time, or in what place, he wrote it, his numerous
commentators seem unable to determine. The life of
Dante, in which we have principally follov/ed Mr. Boyd,
in the preliminary matter to his excellent translation, is
after all not the life of a poet, nor does it furnish the in-
formation we naturally look for in order to enable us to
trace the progress of genius. Boccaccio asserts, that he
began the " Commedia" in his thirtj'-eiglith year, and.
had finished seven cantos of his *' Inferno" before his
exile, and that in the plunder of his house, on that event,
the beginning of his poem was fortunately preserved, but
remained for some time neglected, till, its merit being ac-
cidentally discovered by an intelligent poet, Dino, it was
sent to the marquis Marcello Marespina, an Italian noble-
man, by whom Dante was then protected. The marquis
restored these lost papers to the poet, and intreated him
to proceed in the work, which opened in so promising a
manner. To this accident we are probably intlel)ted for
the poem of Dante, which he must have continued under
all the disadvantages of an unfortunate and agitated life.
It does not appear at vvhat time he completed it : perhaps
before he quitted Verona, as he dedicated the " Paradcso'*
to his Veronese patron. The critics are not agreed why
he called this poem " Commedia."
The very high estimation in which this work was held ia
Florence appears from a very singular institution. The
republic of Florence, in 1373, assigned a public stipend
to a person appointed to read lectures on the poem of
Dante. Boccaccio was the first person engaged in this
office; but his death happening two years after his ap-
pointment, his comment extended only to the first seven-
teen cantos of the " Inferno." Another very terrible in-
stance of their veneration for their native bard is tuld by
Vol. XL T
274 DANTE.
tbe author of the " Memoires de Petrarque." Ceno de
Ascoli, a celebrated physician and astrologer, had the
boldness to write parodies on the poem of Dante. This
drew on him the animadversion of the inquisition. Charles,
duke of Calabria, thought to protect him, but in vain.
The bishop of Aversa, his chancellor, declared it was
highly impious to entertain a sorcerer as a physician, and
Ascoli was accordingly burnt at Florence, about three
years after the death of the poet whom he had maligned.
The " Commedia" of Dante is a species of satiric epic,
in which the reader is conducted through the three stages,
*' the Inferno," the " Purgatorio," and " Paradise," the
whole consisting of a monstrous assemblage of characters,
pagan heroes and philosophers, Christian fathers, kings,
popes, monks, ladies, apostles, saints, and hierarchies ; yet
frequently embellished with passages of great sublimity and
pathos (of the latter, what is comparable to the tale of
Ugolino ?) and imagery and sentiments truly Homeric.
The highest praise, however, must be given to his " In-
ferno," a subject which seems to have suited the gloomy
wildness of his imagination, which appears tamed and
softened even in the most interesting pictures in the
*' Purgatorio" and " Paradiso." Whether, says an excel-
lent living critic, Dante was stimulated to his singular
work by the success of his immediate predecessors, the
Provencal poets, or by the example of the ancient Roman
authors, has been doubted. The latter opinion, Mr. Ros-
coe thinks the more probable. In his " Inferno" he had
apparently the descent of iEneas in view, but in the rest
of his poem there is little resemblance to any antecedent
production. Compared with the ^Eiieid, adds Mr. Ros-
coe, " it is a piece of grand Gothic architecture at the side
of a beautiful Roman temple," on which an anonymous
writer remarks that this Gothic grandeur miserably de^^ene-
rates in the adjoining edifices, the " Purgatorio" and
*« ]»aradiso."
'^i'he editions of Dante's *' Commedia" have been very
numerous. The best is said to be that of Venice, 1757,
3 vols. 4to. It was first printed in 1472, probably at Fo-
ligno, in a folio volume, without place. This is of great ra-
rity and value. The second is in folio of the same date, and
tiie third also of the same date in 4to. The three are ac-
curately described by Mr. Dibdin in his valuable tract,
*' Book Riiriiies." Dunte is the author of some sonnets
DANTE. 2)5
which are not unworthy of him. A considerable number
of them are in his *' Vita Nuova." In the few Latin works
he wrote, his progress in that language is evident, but all
were soon so eclipsed by his " Commedia," that, except
as matters of curiosity, they have seldom been perused.'
Dante (Ignatius), according to some, a descendant
of the famous poet, was born at Perugia in 15:37, and look
the hdbit of a Dominican. He became skilful in philoso-
phy and divinity, but more so in the mathematics. He
was invited to Florence by the great duke Cosmo I. and
explained to him the sphere and the books of Ptolemv,
and left here a marble quadrant, and an equinoctial aiid
meridian line on the front of the church of St. Maria No-
vella. He read public lectures on the same subject, and
had many auditors in the university of Bologna, where he
was appointed mathematical professor. Before he returned
to Perugia, he made a fine map of that city, and of it'i
whole territory, and in 1376 traced the grand meridian in
the church of St. Petrona, which Cassini completed. The
reputation of his learning caused him to be invited to Rome
by Gregory XIII. who employed him in makintr seoo-ra-
1 ■ I II ^ -> coo
pineal maps and plans. He acquitted himself so well in
this, that the pope thought himself obliged to prefer him ;
and accordingly gave him the bishopric of Alatri, near
Rome. He went and resided in his diocese ; but Sixtus V.
who succeeded Gregory XIII. would have him near his
person, and ordered him to return to Home. Dante was
preparing for the journey, but was prevented by death, in
1586. His principal works are, " A Treatise of the Con-
struction and Use of the Astrolabe," " Mathematical Ta«
bles," and a " Commentary on the Laws of Perspective.""
DANTE (John Baptist), of the san)e family, proba-
bly, with the preceding, and native also of Perugia, was
an excellent mathematician, and is memorable for having
fitted a pair of wings so exactly to his body, as to be able
to fl}' with them. He made the experiment several times
over the lake Trasimenus; and succeeded so well, that he
had the courage to perform before the whole city of Peru-
gia, during the solemnity of the niarriage of Bartholomew
' Life prefixed to Mr. Boyd's Translation of the Commedia, 1802, 3 vols. Svo.
Of this work it may be justly said that few translators have ever entered more
into the spirit of their author, or transfused it with more succe.ss — Gmguene
Hist. Lit. d'ltalie, vol, I, 43T, a very elaborate article. — Tiraboschi. — R.jscott *
Lorenzo, &,c. &c, 2 Moreri— Gen. Diet.— Tiraboschi,
T 2
^76 DAN T E.
d'Alviano with the sister of Joljn Paul Baolioni. He shot
himself from the highest part of the city, and directed his
flight over the square, to the admiration of the spectators:
but unfortunately the iron, with which he managed one of
his wings, failed ; and then, not being able to balance the
weight of his body, he fell on a church, and broke his
thigh. Bayle fancies, that the history of this Daedalus, for
so he was called, will not generally be credited ; yet he
observes, that it is said to have been practised at other
places, for which he refers us to the *' Journal des S^a-
vans" of 1678. Dante was afterwards invited to be pro-
fessor of the mathematics at Venice. He flourished to-
wards the end of the fifteenth century, and died before he
was forty years old. ^
DANTE (Pete II Vincent), a native of Perugia, of the
family of Rainaldi, imitated so well the verses of the poet
Dante, that he was generally called by his name. He was
not less distinguished by the delicacy of his poetry, than
by his skill in the mathematics and in architecture. He
died in 1512, in an advanced age, after having invented
several machines, and composed a commentary on the
sphere of Sacrobosco. His grandson Vincent Dante, an
able mathematician, like him, v/as at the same time pain-
ter and sculptor. His statue of Julius HI. has been gene-
rally looked upon as a master-piece of the art. Philip II.
king of Spain, offered him a large salary to induce him to
come and finish the paintings of the Escurial ; but the de-
licacy of Dante's constitution would not permit him to quit
jjis natal air. He died at Perugia in 1576, at the age of
forty-six. There is extant by him, " The lives of those
who have excelled in drav/ings for statues.'"
D'ANTINE (Francis), a Benedictine of the congrega-
tion of St. IMaur,. was born at Gouvieux in the diocese of
Liege, in 1688, and made himself highly respected among
ids brethren by his piety and charitable attention to the
poor and afflicted. To the learned world he is known as
the editor of the first five volumes of the new edition of
Du Cange's Glossar\-, in 1736, which he very much im-
proved and enlarged. He was also one of the editors of
the great collection of French historians begun by Bou-
quet, and of the " Art de verifier les dates," of which a
1 Gen. Diet. — Moreri.
•'3 Oen. Diet. — Moieri. — In both whom there is some tliflPerence as to the rels-
♦iunship wf the«e Danlcs, but Ihcy appear tg J^ave been of tie eauie family.
D'A N T r N E.
•Zl I
new edition was published by Clement in 1770, folio.
D' Amine translated the Psalms from the Hebrew, Paris,
J 739 and 17^0. He died in 1 746. '
DANTZ, or DANS (John Andrew), a learned Ger-
man divine of the Lutheran chnrcb, and whose talents
contributed greatly to raise the reputation of the university
of Jena, was born Feb. 1, 1654, at 'Sandhusen, a village
near Gotha. He appears to have obtained the [)atronage
of the duke Frederick, who defrayed the expence of his
education, both at school, and at the university of Wit-
tenjberg, where he took his mastei"'s degree in 1676.
Having devoted much of his attention to the Hebrew lan-
guage and antiquities, he went to Hamburgh, where he
proHted by ilie assistance of Esdras Edzardi and other
learned Jews, and was enabled to read the rabbinical wri-
tings with ficihty. From Hamburgh he went to Leipsic,
and thence to Jena, from wiiich in l6S;i he visited Hol-
land and England, acquiring in both countries the ac-
quaintance of men of learning. On his return, having de-
termined to settle at Jena, he was appointed professor ex-
traordinary of the oriental languages, and on the death of
the learned Frischmuth, was advanced to be professor-
ordinary. In these offices he acquired great reputation,
and attracted a number of forei'j;n students. Some time
a/ter, he was appointed professor of divinity, in which he
was no less popular. He died of a stroke of apoplexy,
Dec. 20, 1727. He wrote, among many other works,
*' Sinceritas sacrae ScripturiB veteris testamenti triumphans,
cujus prodromus Sinceritas Scripturaj Vet. Test, prevalente
Keri vacillans," Jena, 1713, 'ko; and various dissertatioiiij
in Latin, in controversy with the Jews, or on topics of
Jewish antiquities, particularly " Divina Elohim inter
coaequales de priino homi.ie condcndo deliberatio," 1712 ;
*' Inauguratio Christi hand obscurior Mosaica, decern dis-
sert, asserta," Jena, 1717, 4to; and a very ingenious tract
entitled " Davidis in Ammonitas devictos miligata crude-
litas," WIS.''
DANVEllS (Henry), a brave warrior in the end of the
sixteenth and beginning of the soventeeiuh ceatury, and
created earl of Danby by king Charles 1. was tiie se( ond
son of sir John Danvers, knigl't, by Elizabeth his wilCj
* Diet. Hist. — and Moreri in An tine.
9 Moreri. — Uibl. Gemiariciue, vol. XVII."— Memoirs of Literature, vel. II,
278 D A N V E R S.
dauditer and coheir to John Nevil the last lord Latimer.
He was born at Dantesey in Wiltshire, on the 28th of June,
1577;. After an education suitable to his birth, he went
and served in the Low Country wars, under Maurice count
of Nassau, afterwards prince of Orange ; and was engaged
in many military actions of those times, both by sea and
land. He was made a captain in the wars of France, oc-
casioned in that kmgdom by the League ; and there
knio-hted for his good service under Henry IV. king of
France. He was next employed in L-eland, as lieutenant-
general of the horse, and serjeant-major of the whole army,
under Robert earl of Essex, and Charles Daron of Mont-
ioy, in tue reign of queen Elizabeth. Upon the accession
of king James L he was, on account of his family's des, rts
and sufferings, advanced, July 21, 1603, to the dignity of a
peer of this realm, by the title of Baron of Dantesey : and
in 1 603, by a special act of parliament, restored in blood
as heir to his father, notwithstanding the attainder of his
elder brother, sir Charles Danvers, knight. He was also
appointed lord president of Monster in Ireland ; and in
1620 made governor of the Isle of Guernsey for life. By-
king Charles I. he was created earl of Danby, February 5,
1625 6 ; and made of his privy council; and knight of
the order of the garter. Being himself a man of learning,
as well as a great enconrager of it, and observing that op-
pottunitics were wanting in the university of Oxford for
the useful study of botany, he purchased for the sum of
two hundred and fifty pounds, five acres of ground, oppo-
site Magdalen college, which had formerly served for a
buryiiig-place to the Jews (residing in great numbers at
Oxford, till they were expelled England by king Edward I.
in 1290), and conveyed his right and title to that piece of
land to the university, on the 27th of March, 1622. The
ground being first considerably raised, to prevent its being
ovorfiowed by the river Cherwell, the heads of the uni-
versity laid the first stones of the walls, on the 25th of
July following. They were finished in 1633, being four-
teen feet high : and cost the noble benefactor about five
thousand pounds. The entrance into the garden is on the
north side under a stately gate, the charge of building
which amomucd to between five and fix hundred jiounds.
Upon the front of that gateway, is this Latin inscription ;
Gloriac D-i Opt. Max. Honori Caroli Regis, in usum Acad.
1?t Kfipub. Henricus Comes Danby, D.D. MDCXXXU"
D A N V E R S. 275
For the maintenance of it, and of a gardener, the noble
founder left, by will, the impropriate rectory of Kirkdale
in Yorkshire : which was afterwards settled for the suine
purpose, by his brother and heir sir John Danvers, knt.
The earl of Danby's will bore date the 14th of December,
1640.
He founded also an alms-house, and a free-school, at
Malmesbury in Wiltshire. In his latter days he chose a
retired life ; and (npon what account is not well known)
fell under the displeasure of the court*. At length, he
died at his house in Cornbury Park in Oxfordshire, Jan.
20, 1643-4, in the seventy-first year of his age: and was
buried in the chancel of the parish-church of Dantesey,
under a noble monument of white marble, with an epi-
taph which contains a high character of him. He was never
married,
His younger brother and heir was sir John Danvers, knt.
one of the gentlemen of the privy-chamber to Charles I.
who was so ungrateful and inhuman, as to sit in judgment
upon his gracious master, that unfortunate prince, and to
be one of those who signed the warrant for his execution.
He died before the restoration of king Charles II. but, how-
ever, all his estates both real and personal were confis-
cated in 1661.'
DAPPERS (Oliver or Olfert), a physician at Amster-
dam, who died in 1690, gained some reputation in the
seventeenth century, by the descriptions he published
from 1668 to 1680, in Dutch, of Malabar, Coromandel,
Africa, Asia, Syria, Palestine, and America, in as many
folio volumes. These were the fruits of very accurate and
laborious compilation, for he had never seen one of those
countries. The description of Africa, and that of the
Archipelago, were translated into French.'
DARAN (James), a b>ench military surgeon, who ac-
quired much celebrity for his skill in treating disorders in
the urethra, particularly for his improved method of
making bougies, was born at St. Fra.jon in Gascony March
6, 1701, and after studying the art, became surgeon-major
* He was fined five thousand pounds would not have been inflicted upon
in the star-chamber, for liaving felled him, had he beeu in the goodgiacea
timber in Wichwood-forest,- without of the court,
licence ; a severe puuislimenl, which
' Riog. Rrii.— Fuller's Worthies, and Lloyd's Stale Wovthits^
9 AJoreri, — Diet. Uist,
280 D A R A N.
of the imperial troops, and afterwards practised at Milan,
and at Turin, where the king Victor Amadeus promised
him great encoura-iement if lie would remain ; but at that
time he wished to travel for improvement, and after visit-
ing Rome and Viemia, continued some time at Messina,
where he exerted his skill and humanity with great success.
Having devoted much of his attentiim to the disorders of
the bladder, he pubhshed in 1745, "Recueil d'Ohserva-
tions Chirurgicales sur les Maladies de 1' Urethra," which
has been several times reprinted, and in 1750, v\as trans-
lated into English by Mr. Tomkyns, an eminent surgeon
of London, who was able, he says, from his own experience,
to attest the superior uiility of Daran's bougies ovei those
that had been commonly used. In the fifth volume of the
*' Journv-aux de Medicine," there is a communication by
Daran, in which he makes mention of a tube he had in-
vented for drawing off the urine. This he describes more
particularly in his "Treatise on the Gonorrhoea Virulenia,'*
first published in 1756. It is a flexible catheter, formed
of a spiral wire, covered with the same composition as that
used in making tiie bougies, and was capable of being in-
troduced into tlie bladder, in many cases, where it would
have been dangerous, oiten impossible, to use the com-
mon catheter. Considerable improvements have been since
made of this instrument, but the merit of the invention
still remains with Daran. The fame he acijnired, during
his residence at Paris, brought a nu. her of strangers to
visit him, and the profits of his practice were very great ;
but his charity to the indigent, and an easiness of temper,
which led him into speculations, reduced him at last to
very low circumstances, and he was comparatively poor
when he died, in 1784. It is much to his honour that
when thus reduced, and when the infirmities of age were
approaching, lie divulged, in 1779, the secret of the com-
position of his bougies in a work entitled " Composition
du -emede de Daran, ike." 12mo, when he could derive
no i)enefit except from rlie sale of his book. His other
pnbli'ations were, 1. " lle;)onse a la Brochure de Bayet
sur la defense ct la conservation des parties les plus essen-
tielles de rhomme," 1750, l2moi and 2. *' LeLtre sur un
article des Tunieurs."'
DAllCI. fc'ee DARCY.
* Pict. Hist. — Rees's CyclopcBdla.
D' A R C O N. 281
D'ARCON (John Claudius Elf.onore Limiceaud), aa
cmiuenc Frencii engineer, and nic'iuorablc in history as
tlie cuitiriver uf a mode of besieging Gibraltar whiclj proved
so t'aial to Ills country. iien, was bor.i at Poiitarlier in 173;i.
H:s father, an advocate, intended to bring him uj) to the
church, and had provided him witn a benefice, but Dar-
5on from his infancy had a turn for tiie military life; and
when at scliool, instead of learnin|T Latin, was copying
drawings and sketches of fortiticaiioiis. On one occasion
he took a singular mode of acquainting his parents vvitli
the error they had committetl, in seeking a profession for
him. Having by their desire sat for his portrait, he sub-
stituted, with his own hand, the uniform of an engineer,
instead of the dress of an abbe, in which the artist had
clotlied him. His father, struck with this silent hint, no
longer opposed his inclinations. In 175 4- he was admitted
into the school of Meziere-!, and the following year was
received as an ordinary engineer. He served afterwards
vvitii distinguislieJ honour in the seven years' war, and par-
ticularly in 176 1, at thy defence of Cassel. He afterwards
devoted hims-lf to impv*)vements in the military art, and
even in the making of drawings and charts; and having
great ambition, with a warmth of imagination that pre-
sented every thing as practicable, he at length in 1780
conceived the memorable plan of the siege of Gibraltar.
This, say his countrymen, which has made so much noise
in Kurope, has not been fairly estimated, because every
one has judged from the event. Without entering, how-
ever, in this place, on its merits, all our historians have at-
tributed to Dar^on's ideas a grandeur and even sublimity
of conception which did him mucii honour, and it is yet
remembered that almost all Kurope was so perfectly con-
vinc (l of the success of the plan as to admit of no doubt
or o )|ection. Nothing of the kind, however, was ever
attended with a disconiliiure more complete, and D'Ar9on
wrote and printed a species of justification, which at least
shows the bitterness of his disappointment. On the com-
mencement of the revolutionary war, he engaged on the
popular side ; but, except some concern he had in the
invasion of Holland, does not appear to have greatly dis-
tinguished himself. He was twice denounced by fluctuating
governments ; anti being treated in the same manner after
his Dutch campaign, he retired from the siTvice, and
wrote his last woxk on fortifications. In 17'-»i« the first
282 D*A R C O N.
consul introduced him into the senate, but he did not en-
joy this lionoiir lontr, as he dud July 1, 1800. He was at
that time a inL^mber of the Institute. His works, still in
high estimation in France, are: 1. " Reflexions d'un in-
genieur, en repoiise a. un tacticien," Amst. 17 73, 12mo.
2. '' Correspondance sur I'art de la Guerre entre un colo-
nel de dragons et un capitaine d'infanterie," Bouillon,
1774, 8vo. 3. " Defense d'une systeme de Guerre Na-
tionule, ou analyse raisonn6 d'un ouvvage, intitule ' Re-
futation complete du systeme,' &c." This is a defence of
3V1. JVlenil Durand's system, which had been attacked by
Guibert ; and the preceding pamphlet has a respect to the
same dispute concerning vvliat the French call the ordre
projond and the ordre mince. 4. *' Conseil de Guerre privc,
sur I'evenement de Gibraltar en 1782," 1785, Svo. 5.
*' Memoires pour servir a I'histoire du siege de Gibraltar,
par I'auteur des batteries flottantes," 1783, 8vo. 6. " Con-
siderations sur Tinfluence du genie de Vauban dans la ba-
lance des forces de I'etat," 17 86, Svo. 7. " Examen de-
taille de I'importante question de Tulilite des places fortes
et retranchments," Strasburgh, 1789, Svo. 8. " De la
force militaire consideree dans ses rapports conservateurs,'*
Strasburgh, 1789, Svo, with a continuation, 1790.. 9.
*' Reponse aux Memoires de M. de Montalembert, sur la
fortification dite perpendiculaire," 1790, Svo. 10. " Con-
siderations militaires et politiques sur les Fortifications,"
Paris, 1795, Svo. This, which is the most important of all
bis works, and was printed at the expcnce of the govern-
ment, contains the essence of all his other productions, and
the result of his experience on an art which he had studied
during the whole of his life. '
DARCy (Patrick, Count), of a noble and ancient fa*
mily in Ireland, was born in Galloway Sept. 18, 1725. His
parents, who were attached to the exiled house of Stuart,
'Sent him to Paris in 1739, where, being put under the
care of M. Clairault, at seventeen years of age he gave a
new solution of the problem of the curve of equal pressure
>n a resisting medium. This was followed the year after
by a determination of the curve described by a heavy body,
sliding by its o.vn weight along a moveable plane, at the
same time that the pressure of the body causes an horizon*
tal motion in the plane. This problem had indeed beeft
J Biog. Uaiverselle in art. Arcon,
D A R C Y. 283
solved by John Bernoulli and Clairault; but, besides that
chevalier Darcy's method was peculiar to him, we discover
throughout the work traces of that originality which is the
leading character of all his productions. The commence-
ment of the war took him off in some measure from his
studies, and he served during several campaigns in Ger-
many and Flanders, as captain of the regiment of Conde.
In 1746 he was appointed to accompany the troops that
were to be sent to Scotland to assist the pretender ; but the
vessel in which he sailed was taken by the English, and
Darcy, whose life was forfeited by the laws of his countrv,
as being taken in arms against her, was saved by the hu-
manity of the English commander. During the course of
this war, amidst all its bustle and dangers, he found lei-
sure to contribute two memoirs to the academy. The first
contained a general principle of mechanics, that of the
preservation of the rotatory motion. Daniel Bernoulli and
Euler had found it out in 1745 ; but, besides that it is not
likely their works should have reached Mr. Darcy in the
midst of his campaigns, his method, which is different from
theirs, is equally original, simple, elegant, and ingenious.
This principle, which he again brought forward in 1750,
by the name of " the principle of the preservation of ac-
tion," in order to oppose it to Maupertuis's principle of the
least action, Darcy made use of in solving the problem of
the precession of the equinoxes : here, however, he mis-
carried ; and in general it is to be observed, that though
all principles of this kind may be used as mathematical for-
mula?, two of them at least must necessarily be employed
in the investigation of problems, and even these with great
caution ; so that the luminous and simple principle given
by M. d'Alembert in 1742 is the only one, on account of
its being direct, which can be sufficient of itself for the so-
tion of problems.
Having published an '' Essay on Artillery" in 1760,
containing various curious experiments on the charges of
powder, Ike. and several improvements on Robins (who
was not so great a mathematician as he), Darcy continued
the experiments to the last moment of his life, but has left
nothing behind him. In 1765 he pulilished his " Memoir
on the duration of the sensation of 8iL;ht," the most inge-
nious of his works, and that which shews him in the best
light as an accurate and ingenious uiaker of experiments :
^)je result of these researches wasj that a body may souiq-«
284 D A R C Y.
times pass by our eyes without being seen, or marking its
presence, otherwise than by weakening the brightness of
the object it covers ; thus, in turning pieces of card painted
blue and yellow, you only perceive a continued circle of
green ; thus the seven prismatic colours, rapidly turned,
produce an obscure white, which is the obscurer as the
motion is more rapid. As this duration of the sensation
increases with the brightness of the object, it would have
been interesting to know the laws, according to which the
auo-mentation of the duration follows the intensity of the
light, and, contrarywise, what are the gradations of the
intensity of the light of an object which motion makes con-
tinually visible ; but Darcy, now obliged to trust to other
eyes than his own, was forced to relinquish this pursuit.
Darcy, always eaiployed in comparing mathematical theory
and observation, made a particular use of this principle in
his "Memoir on Hydraulic Machines," printed in 1754.
In this he shews how easy it is to make mistakes in looking
by experiment for the laws of such effects as are sus-
ceptible of a maximum or viiniimtm ; and indicates at the
same time, how a system of experiments may be formed,
which shall lead to the discovery of these laws. All Dar-
cy's works bear the character which results from the union
of genius and philosophy ; but as he measured every thing
upon the largest scale, and required infinite accuracy in
experiment, neither his time, fortune, nor avocations al-
lowed him to execute more than a very small part of what
he projected. He was amiable, spirited, lively, and a lover
of independence; a passion to which he sacrificed even in
the midst of literary society, where perhaps a little aristo-
cracy may not be quite so dangerous.
Darcy, though estranged from it by circumstances, loved
and respected his old country: the friend and protector
of every Irishman who came to Paris, he could not help
feeling a secret pride, even in the successes of that enemy,
against whom he was so often and so honourably to himself
employed. Of his personal histor}-, it yet remains to be
added, that in the seven years' war he served in the regi-
ment of Fitz-.Iames; and in 1770 was appointed mareschal
de-camp, and the same year the academy of sciences ad-
mitted him to the rank of pensionary. In 1777 he married
a niece who was brought up under his care at Paris, and
then took the name of Count Darcy. He died two years
alter this marriage, Oct. 18, 177^- Condorcet wrote his
D A R C Y. 28
o
eloge, published in the History of the Academy, and seems
througliout anxious to do justice to iiis talents and charac-
ter, a circumstance, which, we are told, was very highly
honourable to Condorcet, as he had been most unjustly
the continual object of Durcy's aversion and hatred. Dar-
cy's essays, printed in the Memoirs of the Academy of
Sciences, are various and very ingenious, and are con-
tained in the volumes for the years 1742, 1747, 1749, 1750,
1751, 1752, 1753, 1754, 1758, 1759, 1760, 1765, and in
torn. I. of the " Savans Etrangers." '
DARES PHIIYGIUS, a Trojan priest, celebrated by
Homer, is said to have written a history of the Trojan war,
which ^han speaks of as extant in his time, but it is now
lost, and that which goes under his name is supposed to
have been the work of Septimus Romanus, who flourished
about the year 370. There are editions of it of the dates
1472, 1541, and one at London, 1675, but it has most
generally been printed with Dictys Cretensis, another au-
tlior of doubtful authenticy. ^
D'ARGONNE. See ARGONNE.
D'ARQUIER (AuGUSTiNc), a French astronomer, fel-
low of the royal society of Totdouse, correspondent mem-
ber of the royal academy of Paris, and a member of the
Institute, was born at Toulouse, Nov. 23, 1718, and hav-
ing early cultivated the science of astronomy, and the
sciences connected with it, devoted his long life to the
same pursuits, and acquired great reputation among his
countrymen. Such was his enthusiasm, that, without any
assistance from government, he purchased the most va-
luable instruments, erected an observatory on his honse,
taught scholars, and defrayed the expence of calculations,
&c. He died in his native city, Jan. IS, 1802. He pub-
lished, 1. *' Observations Astronomiques faites a. Toulouse,
&c." Paris, 1778, 4to, the most complete collection of
observations that had ever been furnished from a provin-
cial city. There are six hundred of the moon, thirty-
three oppositions, several observations of Mercury, of the
spots in the sun, the satellites of Jupiter, and the eclipses
of the stars. One of the most surprizing circumstances iu
this collection is the great number of the passages of Mer-
cury that have been observed by M. D'Arquier, uotwith*
* E'oge by Condorcet, — i5iog, Universelle, — and Diet, Hist. In Arty.
' Saxii Onooiast.
286 D' A II Q U I E R.
standing the pretended difficulties which have discouraged
modern astronomers from observing that planet. 2. " Ob-
servations Astrononiiques," 1783, 2 vols. 4to, containing
a series of the usual astronomical observations, from 1748
to 1781 : some useful instructions on the management of
the pendulum: and observations on the motion and mag-
nitude of the Georgium sidus. 3. " Lettres sur I'astro-
nome pratique," 1786, 8vo. Besides these he published
some translations, as Sirason's Geometry, Lambert's Cos-
mological Letters, and Uiloa's Observation on the eclipse
of the sun m 1778. D'Arquier died Jan. 18, 1802, in
Toulouse, *
DARTIS (John), a learned lawyer, was born 1572, at
Cahors, and after studying there, at Khodez, and Tou-
louse, went to Paris with the president de Verdun, and
succeeded Nicholas Oudin as professor of law, 1618. He
was afterwards professor of common law at the royal col-
lege, and died April 2, 1651. It appears from his works,
which were published at Paris, 1656, fol. that he was well
acquainted with the ancient church discij)line, and a very
useful compiler, if not a profound scholar. He published
some separate tracts besides those included in the above
volume, which are enumerated in our authorities. '^
DARWIN (Erasmus), a physician and poet, was a na-
tive of Elton, near Newark, Nottinghamshire, where he
was born December 12, 1731. After going through the
usual school education, under the Rev. Mr. Burrows, at
the grammar-school at Chesterfield, with credit, he was
sent to ist. John's college, at Cambridge. There he only
continued until he took liis baclielor's degree in medicine,
when he went to Edinburgh to complete his studies ; which
being finished, and having taken the degree of doctor in
medicine, a profession to which he was always attached, he
went to Lichfield, and there commenced his career of prac-
tice. Being sent for, soon after his arrival, to Mr. Inglis,
a gentleman of considerable fortune in the neighbourhood,
who was ill with fever, and in so dangerous a state that
the attending physician had given up the case as hopeless,
the doctor had the good fortune to restore him to health.
This gave him so high a degree of reputation at Litchfield,
and in the neighbouring towns and villages, that his coin-
' Diet. Hist.— Month. Rev. vols. LIX and LXX.
Moreri.— Njcerou, vul, XXX,— X)ui)iu,
DARWIN. 587
petitor, who was before in considerable practice, finding
himself neglected, and nearly deserted, left the place.
Dr. Darwin soon after married miss Howard, the daughter
of a respectable inhabitant of Lichtield, by which he
strengthened his interest in the place. By this lady he
had three sons, who lived to the age of manhood ; two of
them lie survived; the third, Dr. Robert Waring Darwin,
is no;v in considerable practice as a physician at Shrews-
bury. In 1781, our author, having married a second wife,
removed to Derby, where he continued to reside to the
time of his death, which happened on Sunday the 18th of
April, 1802, in the seventieth year of his age. Six chil-
tlren by Ids second lady, with their mother, remain to la-
ment the loss of him.
The doctor was of an athletic make, much pitted with
the smalUpox. He stammered much in his speech. He
had enjoyed an almost uninterrupted good slate of healtb
Until towards the conclusion of his life, which he attributed,
and reasonably, to his temperate mode of living, particu-
larly to his moderation in the use of fermented liquors.
1'his practice he recommended strenuously to all who con-
sulted him. Miss Seward, from whose Memoirs of the
Life of Dr. Darwin these notices are principally taken,
gives him the credit of having introduced habits of sobriety
among the trading part of Lichfield, where it had been
the custom to live more freely before he went to reside
there. His frequent journies into the country on profes-
sional business, contributed also in no small degree to the
preservation of his health and his faculties, which latter
remained unimpaired to the day of his death. His death
w^as sudden, occasioned by a fit of what he was used to call
angina-pectoris, which he had several times experienced,
and always relieved by bleeding plentifully.
As Dr. Darwin was a votary to poetry, as well as medi-
cine, he occasionally sent his effusions in that way, to one
or other of the monthly publications, but without his name,
conceiving, from the example of Akenside and Armstrong,
that the reputation he might acquire by his poetry, would
operate as a bar to his advancement in the practice of
medicine. His " Botanic Garden," in which he celebrates
what he calls the " Loves of the Plants," the first of his
poems to which he put his name, was not publislied until
1781, when his medical fame was so well established as to
iiwlie it safe iox hiiu to indulge his taste in any way he
288 DARWIN.
should chiise. Besides, the poem was so amply furnished
witlj notes, containing the natural history, and accounts of
the properties of plants, that it did not seem very alien
from iiis profession. The Botanic Garden is comprised in
two parts. In the first the author treats of the economy of
vegetahles, in the second of the loves of the plants. The
novelty of the design, the brdtiancy of the diction, full of
figurative expressions, in which every thing was personified,
rendered the poem for some years extremely popular. But
the fame which it acquired has in a great degree subsided,
and it is now little noticed. It is probable, that an inge-
nious little poem, "The Loves of the Triangles," published
in a monthly journal, which is a happy iuntation of the
Darwinian manner, contributed to its decline.
In 1793, the author published the first volume of" Zoo-
Domia, or the Laws of Organic Life," 4to. The second
volume, which completed the author's plan, was printed in
1796. As the eccentric genius of the author was known,
great expectations were formed of this work, the labour,
we were told, of more than twenty years. It was to reform,
or entirely new model, the whole system of medicine, pro-
fessing no less than to account for the manner in which
man, animals, and vegetables are formed. They all, it
seems, take their origin from living filaments, susceptible
of irritation, which is the agent that sets them in motion.
Archimedes was wont to say, "give me a place to stand on,
and I will move the earth :" such was his confidence in
his knowledge of the power of the lever. Our author
said, " give me a fibre susceptible of irritation, and I will
make a tree, a dog, a horse, a man." " I conceive," he
says, Zoonomia, vol. I. p. 492, " the primordium, or ru-
diment of the embryon, as secreted from the blood of the
parent, to consist in a single living filament, as a muscu-
lar fibre, whicli I suppose "^o be the extremity of a nerve of
loco-motion, as a fibre of the retina is the extremity of a
nerve of sensation ; as, for instance, one of the fibrils
which compose the mouth of an absorbent vessel ; I sup-
pose this living filament, of whatever form it may be,
whether sphere, cube, or cylinder, to be endued with the
Ciipacity of being excited into action by certain kinds of
stimulus. By the stimulus of the surrounding fluid in which
it is received from tlie male, it may bend into a ring, and
thus form the beginning of a tube. This living ring may
uovy embrace, or absorb a nutritive particle of the fluid in
DARWIN. 289
which it swims, and by drawing it inU> its pores, or joining
it by compression to its extremities, may increase its owu
length or crassitude, and, by degrees, the living ring may
become a hving tube. With this new organization, or ac-
cretion of parts, new kinds of irritability may commence,'*
&c,; whence, sensibihty, which may be only an extension
of irritability, and sensibility further extended, beget per-
ception, memory, reason, and, in short, all those faculties
which have been, it seems, erroneously attributed to mind,
for which, it appears, there is not the smallest necessity ;
and as the Deity does nothing in vain, of course such a
being does not exist. It would be useless to enter into a
further examination of theZoonomia. which has long ceased
to be popular ; those who wish to see a complete refuta-
tion of the sophisms contained in it will read with satisfac-
tion, " Observations on the Zoonomia of Dr. Darwin, by
Thomas Brown, esq." published at Edinburgh in 8vo, in
1798. In ISOI, the author published " Phytologia, or the
Philosophy of Agriculture and Gardening ;" but the pub-
lic, tired with the reveries of the writer, let this large book
of 600 pages in 4to pass almost unnoticed. As little atten-
tion was paid to a small tract on Female Education, which,
had little indeed to attract notice. " It is," Miss Seward
observes, " a meagre work, of little general interest, those
rules excepted, which are laid down for the preservation
of health." It is, however, harmless, a character that can
by no means be accorded to the Zoonomia, as may be
gathered from the strictures which the author of his life in
the Cyclopeedia has justly passed on that work, and to which
nothing could have given even a temporary jjopularity
but the activity of a small sect to whom the autlior's po-
litical and religious, or rather irreligious principles, were
endeared. His son, Charles Darwin, who died at Edin-
burgh the 15th of May, 1778, while prosecuting bis studies
in medicine, deserves to be noticed for having discovered
a test distinguishing pus from mucus, for which a gold
inedal was adjudged him by the university. " As the re-
sult of numerous experiments," he says, " when any one
wishes to examine the matter expectorated by his patient,
let him dissolve a portion of it in vitriolic acid, and another
portion of it in caustic alkalin lixivium, and then add
pure water to both solutions ; if there is a precipitation iu
<each solution, it is clear the expectorated matter is pus ;
if there is no precipitation, the matter is simply mucus.'*
Vol. XL U
290 D A R W I N.
Mr. Darwin left an unfinished essay on the retrograde mo-
tion of the absorbent vessels of animal bodies in some
diseases. This was, some time after the death of the
young man, published by his father, together with the
dissertation for which he had obtained the prize medal. *
DASSIER (John), medallist to the republic of Geneva,
where he was born in 1678, aspiring to be employed in the
English mint, struck a series of kings of England in a good
style, though not all of them taken from originals. He
published them by subscription in 1731, at six guineas the
set in copper, and fifteen in silver. He published also
a series of events in the Roman History ; some of the
great characters in the reign of Louis XVI.; and a series of
the reformers. He died in 1763. His brother James was
in London three or four years to solicit a place for John in
the mint, but did not succeed. James Antony Dassier, ne-
phew of John, came over on Croker's death in 1740, was
next year appointed second engraver to the mint, returned
to Geneva in 1745, and died at Copenhagen in 1759. The
imcle had begun large medals of some of our great men
then living; the nephew did several more, which were sold
in copper at 7^. Gr/. each. There is also a numerous suite
of Roman liistory in small medals of bronze, by the younger
Dassier, that are good performances.^
D'ASSOUCL SeeASSOUCL
DATI (AuGUSTiNii), a learned Italian writer, the son of
a lawyer at Sienna, was born at that place in 1420, and
after acquiring some knowledge of the Latin languao-e,
was put under the care of Francis Philelphus, an eminent
teacher at Sienna, who at the end of two years declared
he was his best scholar. Dati, however, at this time suf-
fered not a little from the ridicule of his schoolfellow.s,
owing to a hesitation in his speech, which he is said to
have cured by the means which Demosthenes adopted, that
of speaking with small pebbles in his mouth. After
finishing his classical studies, he learned Hebrew of some
Jews, arid then entered on a course of philosophy, juris-
prudence, and theology. During his a])plication to these
branches, Odo Anthou}-, duke of Urbino, from the very
favourable account he had of him, invited him to Urbino
to teach the belles Icttres. Dati accordingly set out for
' Rees's Cyc!(ipa»ilia, from Miss Seward's Mi-moirs of Dr. Darwin.
2 Diet. Hist, ill wliiul) we suspect iheie is some confusjou iu ascertaininj^ the
works of these dilfereut artists. Walpole's Antcdotes,
DAT I. 291
that city in April 1442, where he was received with every
mark of honour and friendship by the duUe, but tliis pro-
sperity was not oF long duration. fJe had not enjoyed it
above a year and a half, when the duke, whose excesses
and tyranny had rendered him odious, was assassinated in
a public tumult, witii two-of his favourites ; and Dati, who
was iiated by the populace merely because he was respected
by the duke, was obliged to take refuge for his life in a
church, while the mob pillaged his house. The successor
of Odo, prince Frederick, endeavoured to console Dati for
this misfortune, and offered him a pension, besides recom-
pense for all he had lost; but Dati could not be reconciled
to a residence so liable to interruption, and in 1444 re-
turned to Sienna. Here, after refusing the place of se-
cretary of the briefs, offered to him by pope Nicholas V. he
opened a school for rhetoric and the classics, and acquired
so much reputation, that the cardinal of Sienna, Francis
Piccolomini, formally granted him permission to lecture on
the Holy Scriptures, although he was a married man ; and
at the same time gave him a similar licence to teach and
lecture on any subject, not only in his college, but in all
public places, and even in the church, where, his son in-
forms us, he once preached during Lent. He was also
much employed in pronouncuig harangues on public
occasions in Latin, many of which are among his works.
Nor were his talents confined to literature, but were the
means of advancinjj him to the first offices of the maois-
tracy, and the republic of Sienna entrusted him wiih the
negociation of various affairs of importance at Rome and
elsewhere. In 1457 he was appointed secretary to the re-
public, v/hich he held for two years. Towards the close
of his life he laid aside the study of profane authors for
that of the Scriptures and ecclesiastical iiistorians. He
died of the plague at Sienna, April G, 1478. His son
Nicolas collected his works for publication, " Augustini
Dathi, Senensis, opera," of which there are two editions,
that printed at Sienna, 1503, fol. and an inferior in cor-
rectness, printed at Venice, 1516. They consist of trea- -
tises on the immortality of the soul ; letters; three books
on the history of Sienna; a history of Piombino; on gram-
mar, &c. &c. *
> Moreri. — Niceron, vol. XL. — Fabiic. Med. Lat. — Glemeut Eibl. Cu-
■rieuse,
V 2
^9!^ DAT I.
DATI (Charles), professor of polite literature at Flo-
tence^ where he was born, became famous, as well for his
works as for the eulogies which many writers have bestowed
dn him. He behaved with great courtesy to all learned
travellers who went to Florence, many of whom expressed
their acknowledgment of it in their writings^ but of his
personal history, his countr^^Tien have left us little account.
He was a member of the academy della Crusca, and irt
that quality took the name of Smarrito, and became one
of the chief ornaments of that society. He made a pane-
gyric upon Lewis XIV. in Italian, and published it at Flo-
rence in 1699 ; the French translation of it was printed at
Rome the year following. That monarch gave him a pen-
sion of an hundred pistoles, with a liberal invitation to
France, which however he declined. He had already pub-
lished some Italian poettis in praise of Louis. The book
entitled " Lettera di Timauro Antiate a Filaleti, della vera
storia della Cicloide, e della famosissima esperienza dell*
argento vivo," and printed at Florence in 1663, was written
by him ; for it appears from the 26th page of the letter,
that the pretended Timauro Antiate is no other than
Charles Daii. In this work he endeavours to prove that
father Mursennus is not the inventor of the cycloid, as is
said in the history of it, but that the glory of that inven-
tion belongs to Galileo ; the other, that Torricelli was in^
iiocent of plagiarism, when he pretended to be the first
who explained the suspension of quicksilver in a glass tube
by the pressure of the air, for that he was the real author
of this supposition. But the chief work to which our Dati
applied himself, was the " Vite dei Pittori," which he
published in 1667. This, which was to have embraced the
lives of all the ancient painters, contains only those of
Zeuxis, Parrhasius, Apeiles, and Protogenes. He pub-
lished also a valuable collection of eles^ant and useful les-
sons for writing Italian, entitled " Prose Fiorentini." ¥e\v
men had studied that language with more attention. He
died in 1675, greatly lamented for his personal, as well as
public character. An)ong his numerous correspondents we
iind the name of our illustrious Milton. There is a recent
and much improved edition of his " Vite dei Pittori" by
Della Valle, published at Sienna, 1795, 4lo. '
» Fabroni Vifae Italorutn : the best account yet given. — Niceron, ro!, XXIVn
— Tiraboschi, — Clement Bibl. Curieuse,
D A V A L. 293
DAVAL (Peter), esq. of the Middle Temple, a bar-
rister at law, afterwards master in cljancery, and at the
time of his death, Jan. 8, I7C3, accomptant-genc-ral of
that court, is noticeable as having translated the " Memoirs
of cardinal de Rctz," which were printed in 1723, l2mo,
with a dedication to Congreve, who encouraged the jiub-
lication. He was F. K. S. and an able niathen)atician. la
the dispute concerning elliptical arclies, at the time when
Blackfriars bridge was built, application was made by the
committee for his opinion on the subject, and his answer
may be seen in the London Magazine for March, 1760.
'He also published in 1761, " A Vindication of the New
Calendar Tables, and Rules annexed to the Act for re-
gulating the commencement of the year," &c. 4to.'
DAVENANT (John), bishop of'Salisbury in the seven-
teenth century, was born in Watling-street, London,
where his father was an eminent merchant, but originally-
descended from the ancient family of the Davenants of
Sible-Heningham, in Essex. What school he was edu-
cated in, we cannot find. But, on the 4th of Jul}', 1587,
he was admitted pensioner of Queen's college, in Cam-
bridge. He regularly took his degrees in arts ; that of
master in 15^4. A fellowship was offered him about the
same time; but his father would not permit him to accept
of it, on account of his plentiful fortune : however, alter
his father's decease he accepted of one, into wh;cii he was
admitted September 2, 1597. Being thus settled in the
college, he distinguished himself, as before, by his learning
and other excellent qualifications. In 1601 he took his
degree of B. D. and that of D. D in 1609. This same
year last-mentioned he was elected lady Margaret's pro-
fessor, which place he enjoyed till 1621. He was also one
of her preachers in 1609 and 1612. On the 20th of Oc-
tober 16i4, he was admitted master of his coll.^ge, and
continued in that station till April 20, 1622. And so on-
siderable diil he become, that he was one of tliose em uent
English divines sent by king James L to the synod ol Dort,
in 1618. He returned to England in May 1619, after
having visited the principal cities in the Low Count rics.
Upon the death of his brother-in-law, Dr. Robert Town^
son, he was nominated bishop of Salisbury; and was elected
June 11, 1621, confirmed November 17 following, au(i
1 Preceding edit. — and Nichols's Bowycr,
294 D A V E N A N T.
eonsecrated the 18th of the same month. He continued
in favour during the remauider of king James the First's
reign ; but in Lent 1630-1, he incurred the displeasure of
the court for nieddhng (in a sermon preached before the
king at \\ hitehall) with the predestinarian controversy ;
*' all curious search" into which his majesty had strictly
enjoined " to be laid aside." In a letter to Dr. Ward,
bishop Davenant gives the following account of this un-
pleasant affair. As soon as his sermon was ended, it was
signitied to him that his majesty was much displeased that
he had stirred this question, wiiich his majesty had for-
bidden to be meddled withal, one way or other : the bi-
shop's answer was, that he had delivered nothing but the
received doctrine of our church, established in the 17th
article, and that he was ready to justify the truth of what
he had then taught. He was told, the doctrine was not
gainsaid, but his inajesty had given command these ques-
tions should not be debated, and therefore he took it more
offensively that any should be so bold as in his own hearing
to break his royal commands. To this he replied, that he
never understood his majesty had forbidden the handling
of any doctrine comprised in the articles of our church,
but only raising of new questions, or adding of new sense
thereunto, which he had not done, nor ever should do.
Two days after, when he appeared before the privy-coun-
cil, Dr. Sam. Harsnet, archbishop of York, made a speech
nearly half an hour long, aggravating the boldness of
bishop Davenant's offence, and shewing many inconve-
niencies that it was likely to draw after it. When the
archbishop had finished his speech, the bishop desired,
that since he was called thither as an offender, he might
not be put to answer a long speech upon the sudden ; but
that his grace would be pleasetl to charge him point by.
point, and so to receive his answer ; for he did not yet un-
derstand wherein he had broken any commandment of his
majesty's, which was taken for granted. After some pause,
the archbishop told him he knew well enough the point
which was urged against him, namely, the breach of the
king's declaration. Then he stood upon this defence, that
the doctrine of predestination, which he taught, was not
forbidden by the declaration; 1st, Because in the decla-
ration all the articles are estiiblished, amongst which, the
article of predestination is one. 2. Because all ministers
j).re urged to subscribe unto the truth of the article, and
D A V E N A N T. 295
all subjects to continue in tlie profession of that as well as
of the rest. U|jon these uiitl such hke <5roui)ds, he ga-
thered that ii couUl noL be esteemed amongst forljidden,
curious, or needless doctrines ; and here he desired that
out of any clause in the declaration it might be shewed
him, that keeping himself within the bounds of the article,
he had tiansgressed his majesty's conunand ; but the de-
claration was not produced, nor any particular words in it;
only this was urged, that the king's will was, that for the
peace of the church these high questions should be for-
borne. He added, that he was sorry he understood not
his majesty's intention ; which if he had done before, he
should have made clioice of some other matter to treat of,
which might have given no ollence ; and that for the time
to come, he should conform himself as readily as any other
to his majesty's command ; whereupon he was dismissed.
At his departure he entreated the lortls of the council to
let his majesty understand that he had not boldly, or wil-
fully and wittingly, against his declaration, meddled with
the fore-named point; and that now, understanding fully
his majesty's mind and intention, he should humbly yield
obedience thereunto. But although he was dismissed with-
out farther censure, and was even admitted to kiss the king's
hand, yet he was never afterwards in favour at court. He
died of a consumption April 20, 1641, to which a sense
of the melancholy event approaching did not a little con-
tribute. Among other benefactions, he gave to Queen's-
college, in Cambridge, the perpetual advowsons of the
rectories of Cheverel Magna, and ^Newton Tony, in Wilt-
shire, and a rent-charge of ill. \0s. per annum, for the
founding of two Bible-clerks, and buying books for the
library in tlie same college. His character was that of a maa
humble and hospitable; painful in preaching and writing;
and behaving in every station with exemplary gravity and
moderation. Hewas a man of great learning, and an eminent
divine ; but strictly attaclied to Calvinism in the article of
unconditionate predestination, &c. VVMiilst he was at tiie
synod of Dort, he inclined to the doctrine of universal re-
demption ; and was for a middle way between the two ex-
tremes, maintaining the certainty of the salvation ot a
certain number of the elect; and that offers of pardon were
sent not only to all that should believe and repent, but to
all that heard the Gospel ; that grace sufficient to convince
and persuade the impenitent [so as to lay the blame of
296 D A V E N A N T.
their condemnation upon themselves) went along with
these offers ; that the redemption of Christ and his merits
were applicable to these ; and consequently there was a
possibility of their salvation. He was buried in Salisbury
cathedral.
He published: 1. A Latin Exposition on St. Paul's
Epistle to the Colossians. *' Expositio Epistolae D. Pauli
ad Colossenses," fol. The third edition was printed at
Cambridoe, in 1639. It is the substance of lectures read
by our author as lady Margaret professor. So was also the
followinc:. 2. " Praelectiones de duobus in Theolofjia
controversis capitibus ; de Judice Controversiarum, primo;
de Justitia habituali & actual;, altero," Cantab. 1631, fol.
3, In 1634 he published the questions which he had dis-
puted upon in the schools, 49 in number, under this title :
*' Determinationes QuaestionumquarundaniTheologicarum,
per reverendissimum virum Joannem Davenantium," &c.
fol. 4. The last thing he published, was, " Animadver-
sions upon a treatise lately published, and entitle^, God's
Love to Mankind, manifested by disproving his absolute
decree for their damnation," Camb. 1641, 8vo. This trea-
tise was written by S. Hoard.'
DAVENANT (Sir William), a poet and dramatic
writer of considerable note, was the son of John Davenant,
who kept the Crown tavern or inn at Oxford, but owing to an
obscure ins nuation in Wood's account of his birth, ithas been
supposed that he was the natural son of Shakspeare ; and
to render this story probable, Mrs. Davenant is represented
as a woman of beauty and gaiety, and a particular favou-
rite of Shakspeare, who was accustomed to lodge at the
Crown, on his journies between Warwickshire and London.
Modern inquirers, particularly Mr. Steevens, are inclined
to discredit this story, which indeed seems to rest upon no
very sound foundation. Young Davenant, who was born
Feb. 1605, very early betrayed a poetical bias, and one of
his first attempts, when he was only ten years old, was an
ode in remembrance of master William Shakspeare : this
is a remarkable production for one so young, and one who
lived, not only to see Shakspeare forgotten, but to con-
tribute, with some degree of activity, to that instance of
depraved taste. Davenant was educated at the grammar-
school of All Saints, in his native city, under Mr. Edward
> JJiog. Brit.— Fuller's Worthies.
D A V E N A N T. 297
Sylvester, a teacher of high reputation. In 1621, the
year in which his father served the office of mayor, he en-
tered of Lincohi-collet^e, but being encoiiraged to try lji:j
success at court, he appeared there as page to Frances
duchess of Kichinond, a lady of great iniiuence and fasiiion.
He afterwards resided in the family of the celebrated sir
Fulke Greville, lord Brooke, who was liimseif a poet and
a patron of poets. The murder of this nobleman in 1628
depriving hint of what assistance he might expect from his
friendship, Davenant had recourse to the stage, on which
he produced Ids first dramatic piece, the tragedy of Albo-
vine, king of the Londiards.
This play had success enough to procure him the recom-
mendation, if uoiliing more substantial, of many persons
of distinction, and of the wits of the times ; and with such
encouraa^ement he renewed his attendance at court, addincr
to its pleasures by his dramatic efforts, and not sparingly
to tiie mirth of his brethren the satirists, by ttie unfor-
tunate issue of some of his licentious gallantries. For
several years his plays and masks were acted with the
greatest applause, and his character as a poet was raised
very high by all who pretended to be judges. On the
death of Ben Jonson, in 1638, the queen procured for him
the vacant laurel, which is said to liave given such ofience
to Thomas May, his rival, as to induce him to join the
disaffected party, and to become the advocate and histo-
rian of ti)e republican parliament. In 1639, Davenant was
appointed " Governor of the king and queen's company
acting at the Cockpit in Drury-lane, during the lease which
Mrs. Elizabeth Beeston, alias Hutcheson, hath or doth
hold in the said house." When tiie civil commotions had
for some time subsisted, the peculiar nature of them re-
quired that public amusements shoidd be the decided ob-
jects of popular resentment, and Davenant, who had
administered so copiously to the pleasures of the court,
was very soon brought under suspicions of a more serious
kind. In May 1641, he was accused before the parlia-
ment, of being a partner with niany of the king's friends,
in the design of bringing the army to London for liis ma-
jesty's protection. His accomplices effected their esca))e,
but Davenant was apprehended at Feversham, and sent up
to London. In July following he was bailed, but on a se-
cond attempt to withdraw to France, was taken in Kent.
At last, however, he contrived to make his escape witli-^
29S B A V E N A N T.
out farther impediment, and remained abroad for some
time, Th.' mutive of his figlit appears not to have been
cowardice, but an unwillingness to sacritice his lile to po-
pular lury, while there was any prospect of liis being able
to devote it to the service of his royal niaster. Accordingly,
when the quLen sent over a considerable quantity of military
stores for the nse of the earl of Newcastle's army, Davenant
resolutely ventured to return to Kngland, and volunteered
his services under that nobleman, who had been one of his
patrons. The earl made him lieutenant-general of his
ordnance, a post for which, if he was not previously pre-
pared, he qualified himself with so much skill and success,
that in September 1643, he was rewarded with the honour
of knighthood for the service he rendered to the royal
cause at the siege of Gloucester, Of his military prowess,
however, we have no farther account, nor at what time he
found it necessary, on the decline of the king's affairs, to
retire again into i" ranee Here he was received into the
confidence of the queen, who in 1646 employed him in
one of her importunate and ill-advised negociations with
the kins:, who was then at Newcastle. About the same
time Davenant had embraced the popish religion, a step
which probably recommended him to the queen, but which,
when known, could only tend to increase the animosity of
the republicans against the court, which was already too
closely suspected of an attachment to that persuasion. The
object of his negociation was to persuade the king to save
his crown by sacrificing the church ; a proposition which
his majesty rejected witti becoming dignity ; and this, as
Jord Clarendon observes, " evinced an honest and con-
scientious principle in his majesty's mind, which elevated
him above all his advisers." The queen's advisers in the
measure were, his majesty knew, men of no religious
principle, and he seems to have resented their sending an
ambassador of no more consequence than the manager of
a play-house.
During our poet's residence at Paris, where he took up
his habitation in the Louvre, with his old friend lord
Jermyn, he wrote the first two books of his " Gondibert,"
which were published in England, but without exciting
much interest. Soon after he commenced projector, and
hearing that vast improvements might be made in the
loyal colony of Virginia, by transporting good artificers,
whom France could at that tirae spare, he embarked with
D A V E N A N T. 299
a number of them, at one of the ports in Normandy, This
humane and apparently wise scheme ended almost imme-
fUately in the capiurc of his vessel on the French coast, by
one of the parliamentary ships of war, which carried him
to the Isle of W igiit, where he was imprisoned at Cowcs-
castle. After endeavouring to reconcile himself to this un-
fortunate and perilous situation, he resumed his pen, and
proceeded with his " Gondibei t," but being in continual
dread of his life, he made hut slow progress. His fears,
indeed, were not without foundation. In 1650, when the
parliament had triumj)hed over all opposition, he was or-
dered to be tried by a high commission court, and for this
purpose was removed to the Tower of London. His bio-
graphers are not agreed as to the means by which he was
saved. Some impute it to the si)licitations of two aldermen
of York, to whom he had been hospitable when they were
his prisoners, and wliom he suffered to escape. Others
inform us that Milton interposed. Both accounts, it is
hoped, are true, and it is certain that after tlie restora-
tion, he repaid Milton's interference in kind, by preserving
him from the resentment of the court. He remained,
however, in prison for two years, and was treated with
some indulgence, by the favour of the lord-keeper, Whit-
locke, whom he thanked in a letter written with peculiar
e-legancc of style and compliment.
By degrees he obtained complete enlargement, and had
nothinor to regret btit the wreck of his fortune. In this di-
lemma, he adopted a measure which, like a great part of
his conduct throughout life, shews him to have been a man
of an undaunted and unaccommodating spnit, fertde in
expedients, and possessed of no common resources of mind.
Indeed, of all schemes, tliis seemed the most unlikely to
succeed, and even the most dangerous to propose. Yet,
in the very teeth of luitioiial prejudices or principles, and
at a time when all dramatic entertainments were suspended,
discouraged by the prutectoral court, and anathematized
by the people, he conceived, that if he could contrive to
open a theatre of some kind, it would be sure to be well
filled. Viewing his difBcnlties with great precaution, he
proceeded by slow steps, and an apparent reluctance to
revive what was so generally obnoxious. Having, how-
ever, obtained the countenance of lord Whitlocke, sir
John Maynard, and other persons of rank^ he ojiened a
theatre in Rutland-house, Chart^rhouse-yard, on the 21st
300 D A V E N A N T.
of May, 1656, and performed a kind of non-descript en-
tertainments, as they were called, which were dramatic in
every thing but the names and form, and some of them
were called operas. When he found these relished and
tolerated, he proceeded to more regular pieces, and with
such advantages in style and manner, as, in the judgment
of the historians of the stage, entitle him to the honour of
being not only the reviver, but the improver of the legiti-
mate drama. These pieces he afterwards revised, and
published in a more perfect state, and they now form the
principal part of his printed works, although modern taste
has lon<i^ excluded them from the staore.
On the restoration, he received the patent of a play-
house, under the title of the Duke's Company, who first
performed in the theatre in Portugal row, Lincoln's- inn-
fields, and afterwards in that in Dorset-gardens*. Here
he acted his former plays, and such new ones as he wrote
after this period, and enjoyed the public favour until his
death, April 7, 1668, in his sixty-third year. He was in-
terred with considerable ceremony, two days after, in
Westminster-abbey, near the place where the remains of
May, his once rival, had been pompously buried b}' the
parliament, but were ordered to be removed. On his
grave-stone is inscribed, in imitation of Ben. Jonson's short
epitaph, " O rare sir William Davenant."
The life of sir William Davenant occupies an important
space in the history of the stage, to which he was in many
respects a judicious benefactor, by introducing changes of
scenery and decorations ; but he assisted in banishing
Shakspeare to make way for dramas that are now into-
lerable. He appears to have been, in his capacity of ma-
nager, as in every part of life, a man of sound and origi-
nal sense, firm in his enterprizcs, and intent to gratify the
taste of the public, with little advantage to himself, as he
died insolvent. The greater part of his works was pub-
lished in his life-time, in 4to, but they were collected in
1C73, into one large folio volume, dedicated by his widow
to the duke of Vork.
As a poet, his fame rests chiefly on his " Gondibert,"
but the critics have never been afjreed in the share he de-
* Tlie roadev who is curious in such the Stacp, where he will find a minute
maitirs, must be refeired to Dave- detail of Davpnant's various grants, !i-
jiiini's life in the Biogrnphia Uritan- cenccs, and diisputes with his rival ma-
pica, and to Mr. Malone's History of nagers.
D A V E N A N T. 301
rives from it. The reader who declines to judge for him-
self, may have ample satisfaction in the opinions of the
late bishop Hurd, and of Dr. Aikin, as detailed in the con-
clusion of his life in the Biographia Britannica. It will
probably be found on an unprejudiced perusal of this ori-
ginal and very singular poem, that the opinions of Dr.
Ailiin and Mr. Headley are founded on those principles
of taste and feeling wl)ich cannot be easily opposed ; yet
in considering the objections of Dr. Hurd, allowance is to
be made for one who is so powerful and elegant an advo-
cate for the authorized qualities of the Epic species, and
for arguments which if they do not aitach closely to this
poem, may yet be worthy of the consideration of those
whose inventive fancy leads them principally to novelty of
manner, and who are apt to confound the arbitrary caprices
with the genuine powers of a poet. His miscellaneous pieces
are of very unequal merit. Most of ihem were probably
written in youth, and but few can be reprinted with the
hope of satisfying a polished taste. Complimentary
poetry, so much the fashion in his times, is now perused
with indifference, if not disgust; and although the gratitude
which inspired it may have been sincere, it is not Ijighly
relished by the honest independence which belongs to the
sons of the muses.'
DAVENANT (Charles), the eldest son of sir William
Davenant, was born in 1656, and was initiated in gram-
mar-learninii at Cheame in Surrey. Thouirh he had the
misfortune to lose his father when scarce twelve years of
age, yet care was taker) to send him to Oxford to (inisb
his education, where he became a commoner of Baliol col-
lege in 1671. He took no degree, but went to London,
where, at the age of nineteen, he distinguished himself
by a dramatic performance, the only one he published,
entitled, *' Circe, a tragedy, acted at his royal highness
the duke of York's theatre with great applause." This
play was not printed till two years after it was acted ; upon
which occasion Dryden wrote a prologue, and the earl of
Rochester an epilogue. In the former, there was an apo-
logy for the author's youth and inexperience. He had a
considerable share in the theatre in right of his father,
which probaldy induced him to turn his thoughts so early
to the stage; however, he was not long detained there
1 Biog. Brit. — Johnson and Chalmers's Pgets, 1810.
302 D A V E N A N T.
either hy that, or the success of his play, but applied him*
self to the civil law, in which, it is said, he had the degree
of doctor conferred upon hiai by the university of Cann-
bridge. He was elected to represent the borough of St.
Ives in Cornwall, in the first parliament of James II. which
was summoned to meet in May 1685 ; and, about the same
time, jointly empowered, with the master of the revels, to
inspect all plays, and to preserve the decorum of the stage.
He was also appointed a commissioner of the excise, and
continued in that employment for near six years, that is,
from 1683 to 1689: however, he does riOt seem to have
been advanced to this rank before he had gone through
some lesser employments. In 1698 he was elected for the
borough of Great Bedwln, as he was again in 1700. He
was afterwards api)ointed inspector-general of the exports
and imports; and this employment he held to the time of
his death, which happened Nov. 6, 171 K Dr. Davenant's
thorough acquauuance with the laws and constitution of
the kingdom, joined to his great skill in figures, and his
happiness in applying that skill according to the principles
advanced by sir William Petty in his Political Arithmetic,
enabled him to enter deeply into the management of af-
fairs, and procured him great success as a writer in poli-
tics; audit is remarkable, that though he was advanced
and preferred under the reigns of Charles II. and James II.
yet in all his pieces he reasons entirely upon revolution
principles, and compliments in the highest manner the vir-
tues and abilities of the prince then upon the throne.
His first political work was, " An Essay upon Ways and
Moans of supplying the War," 1695. In this treatise he
wrote with so much strength and perspicuity upon the na-
ture of funds, that whatever pieces came abroad from the
author of the Essay on Ways and Means, were sufficiently
recommended to the public ; and this was the method he
usually took to distinguish the writings he afterwards pub-
lished. 2. "An Essay on the East- India Trade," 1697.
This was nothing more than a pamphlet, written in form
of a letter to the marquis of Normandy, afterwards duke
of Buckinghamshire. 3. " Discourses on the public reve-
nues, and of the trade of England. Part 1. To which is
added, a discourse upon improving the revenue of the
state of Athens, written originally in Greek by Xenophon,
and now made English from the original, with some histo-
rical notes by another hand," 1698. This other hand was
D A V E N A N T. 303
Walter Moyle, esq. who addressed his discourse to Dr.
Davenaut. There is a joassage in it which shews, that
there were some thoughts of sending over our author in
quality ol director-general to the East- Indies; and is also
a clear testiinony what that great man's notions were, in
regard to the iujportance of liis writings. It is this : " The
great trade to iht; East-Indies, witli some few regulations,
might be established upon a bottom more consistent with
the manufactures of Enghmd ; but in all appearance this is
not to be compased, unless some public-spirited man, with
a masterly genius," meaning Dr. Davenant himsilf, " be
placed at the head of our affairs in India. And though we,
who are his friends, are loth to lose him, it were to be wished
for the good of the kingdom, that the gentleman, whom com-
mon lame and the voice of the world have pointed out as
the ablest man for such a station, would employ his excel-
lent indiimciit and talents that way, in the execution of so
noble and useful a desi2:u." 4. " Discourses on the Pub*
lie Revenues, and on the Trade of England, which more
immediately treat of the foreign traffic of this kingdom.,
Part II." 1698. 5. " An Essay on the probable Method
of making the people gainers in the Balance of Trade,"
1699. 6. " A Discourse upon Grants and Resumptions :
shewing, how our ancestors have proceeded wiih such
ministers as have procured to themselves grants of the
crown revenue; and that the forfeited estates ought to be
applied to the payment of public debts," 1700, 7. " Es-
says upon the Balance of Power ; the right of making War,
Peace, Alliances ; Universal Monarchy. To which is
added, an Appendix, containing the records referred to in
the second essay," 1701. It was in this book that our
author was carried away by his zeal to treat the church, or
at least some churchmen, in so disrespectful a manner, as
to draw upon himself a censure from one of the houses of
convocation. 8. " A picture of a Modern Whig, in two
parts," 1701. There is, however, nothing but general re-
port, founded upon the likeness of style and other circum-
stantial evidence, to prove that this bitter pamphlet fell
from the pen of our author ; and, if it did, he must be al-
lowed to have been the greatest m ister of invective that
ever wrote in our lansyuairc; others have attributed it to
Defoe. 9. " Essays upon Peace at Home and War Abroad,
in two parts," l70i. This is the first piece our author
published after the lime that he is supposed to have re-
504 I) A V £ N A N T.
conciled himself to the ministry ; it was suspected to be
written at the desire of lord Halifax, and was dedicated to
the queen. It drew upon him the resentment of that
party, by whom he had been formerly esteemed, but who
now bestowed upon him as ill language, or rather worse,
than he had received from his former opponents. 10, *' Re-'
flections upon the Constitution and Management of the
Trade to Africa, through the whole course and progress
thereof, from the beginning of the last century to this
time," &c. 1709, fol. in 3 parts. 11. "A Report to the
honourable the Commissioners for putting in execution the
Act, entitled, an Act for the taking, examining, and stat-
ing the Public Accounts of the Kingdom, from Charles
Davenant, LL. D. inspector-general of the exports and im-
ports," 1712, part I, 12. *' A Second Report to the Ho-
nourable the Commissioners," &c. 1712. It may be neces-
sary to observe, that several of the above-recited pieces
were attacked in the warmest manner, at the time they
were published ; but the author seems to have satisfied
himself in delivering his sentiments and opinions, without
shewing any further concern to defend and support them
against the cavils of party zeal and contention. Most of
his political works were collected and revised by sir Charles
Whitworth, 1771, in 5 vols. 8vo.
*' Davenant," says sir John Sinclair, " is certainly a most
valuable political author; and considering that the modern
system of politics, founded on a spirit of commerce, on
public credit, on paper circulation, and on skill in finance,
was then in a manner in its infancy, he undoubtedly was a
writer whose proGrress was more advanced than could have
been expected at that time. It appears from his works,
that he had access to official information, from which he
derived many advantages. He seems, however, to have
depended too much upon political arithmetic, or the
strength of figures, v.hicli ought only to be resorted to
when the fact itself cannot be ascertained, being only a
succedaneum when belter evidence cannot be procured.
He was unfortunately, ulso, a party writer, and saw every
thing in the manner the best calculated to promote the
views and purposes of his political friends at the time-
F.very thing they did was right, whilst every action of their
enemies was ill-intended and ruinous. He possessed a
very considerable command of language, and is sometimes
DA V E N A N T. 30.3
too prolix; but on the whole there are certainly very few
that can rival him as a political author."'
DAVENANT (William), younger brother to the for-
mer, and fourth son to sir William Davenant, was edu-
cated at Magdalen hall, in the university of Oxford, where
he took the tlcgree of bachelor of arts, July 19, 1677. He
translated into English from the French a book entitled,
*' Animadversions upon the famous Greek and Latin His-
torians," written by the celebrated Mr. la Mothe le Vayer,
tutor to the French king Louis XUL, which was very
well received. He took the degree of master of arts
July 5, 1680, and about the same time entering into holy
orders, was presented to a living in the county of Surre}',
by his patron Robert Wymondsole, of Putney, esq. with
whom he travelled into France ; and in the summer of
1681, as he was diverting himself by swimming in a river
near Paris, he was unfortunately drowned in the sight of
his pupil, to the great regret of all who knew him, having
added to great natural parts, by an assiduous application to
study, as much sound learning and true knowledge as could
be expected in a person so young.*
DAVENPORT (Christopher), a learned Englishman,
was born at Coventry, in Warwickshire, about 1598, and
educated in grammar-learning at a school in that city.
He was sent to Merton-college in Oxford at fifteen years
of age ; where, spending two years, he, upon an invita-
tion from some Romish priest, afterwards went to Dovva3^
He remained there for some time ; and then going to
Ypres, he entered into the order of Franciscans among the
Dutch there, in 1617. After several removals from place
to place, he became a missionary into England, where he
went by the name of Franciscus a Sancta Clara ; and at
length was made one of the chaplains to Henrietta Maria,
the royal consort of Charles I. Here he exerted himself
to promote the cause of popery, by gaining disciples,
raising money among the English catholics to carry on
public matters abroad, and by writing books for the ad-
vancement of his religion and order. He was very eminent
for his uncommon learning, being excellently versed in
school-divinity, in fathers and councils, in philosophers,
and in ecclesiastical and profane histories. He was. Wood
' Biog. Brit. — Ath, Ox. vol. II. — Ccnsiira Literaria, vol. I.
2 Biog. Brit.
Vol. XI. X
306 DAVENPORT.
tells us, a person of very free discourse, while bis fellow-
labourer in the same vineyard, Hugh Cressey, was re-
served ; of a lively and quick aspect, while Cressey was
clouded and melancholy : all which accomplishments made
him agreeable to protestants as well as papists. Arch-
bishop Laud, it seems, had some knowledge of this per-
son ; for, in the seventh article of his impeachment, it is
said, that *' the said archbishop, for the advancement of
popery and superstition within this realm, hath wittingly
and willingly received, harboured, and relieved divers
popish priests and Jesuits, namely, one called Sancta
Clara, alias Davenport, a dangerous person and Francis-
can friar, who hath written a popish and seditious book,
entitled, < Deus, Natura, Gratia,' kc. wherein the thirty-
nine articles of the church of England, established by act
of parliament, are much traduced and scandalized : that
the said archbishop had divers conferences witli him, while
he was writing the said book," &c. To which article, the
archbishop made this answer : " I never saw that Francis-
can friar, Sancta Clara, in my life, to the utmost of my
memory, above four times or five at most. He was first
brought to me by Dr. LinJsell : but 1 did fear, that he
would never expound the articles so, that the church of
P^nsrland might have cause to thank him for it. He never
came to me after, till he was almost ready to prmt another
book, to prove that episcopacy was authorised in the church
by divine right; and this was after these unhappy stirs be-
gan. His desire was, to have this book printed here; but
at his several addresses to me for this, I still gave him this
answer: That I did not like the way which the church of
Rome went concerning episcopacy ; that I would never
consent, that any such book from the pen of a Romanist
should be printed here ; that the bishops of England are
very well able to defend their own cause and calling, with-
out any help from Rome, and would do so when they saw
cause : and this is all the conference I ever had with him."
Davenport at this time a!)sconded, and spent most of those
years of trouble in obscurity, sometimes beyond the seas,
sometimes at London, sometimes in the country, and
sometimes at Oxford. After the restoration of Charles H.
when the marriage was celebrated between him and Cathe-
rine of Portugal, Sancta Clara became one of her chap-
lains; and was for the third time chosen provincial of ids
order for England, where he died May 31, 1680, and was
DAVENPORT. 307
buried in the clmrch-yard belonging to the Savoy. It was
his desire, man}' years before bis death, to retire to Ox-
ford to die, purposely that his bones might l^e laid in St.
Ebb's church, to which tlie mansion of the Franciscans or
grey-friars sometime joined, and in which several of the
brethren were anciently interred, particularly those of his
old friend John Day, a learned friar of his order, who was
there buried in 165H. He was the author of several works:
1. " Paraphrastica exposiiio articuluruin confessionis An-
glicae :" tliis book was, we know not why, much censured
by the Jesuits, who would fain have had it burnt; but
being- soon after licensed at Rome, all farther rumour about
it stopped. 2. " Deus, Natnra, Gratia : sive, tractatus de
prsedestinatione, de meritis," &c.: this book was dedicated
to Charles I. ; and Prynne contends, that the whole scope of
it, as well as the paraphrastical exposition of the articles,
reprinted at the end of it in 1635, was to reconcile the
king, the church, and the articles of our religion, to the
church of Rome. He published also a great number of
other works, which are not now of consequence x^nough tu
be mentioned. *
DAVENPORT (John), elder brother of Christopher just
mentioned, was born at Coventry in 1597, and sent from
thence wiih his brother to Merton-college in 1G13; but
while Christopher went to Doway, and became a catholic,
John went to London, and became a puritan. He was
minister of St. Stephen's in Coleman-street, and esteemed
by his brethren a person of excellent gifts in preaching,
and in other qualities belonging to a divine. About 1630
he was appointetl one of the feoffees for the buying in
impropriations, which involved hiin in a dispute with arch-
bishop Laud ; but that project miscarrying, he left his
pastoral charge about 1633, under pretence of opposition
from the bishops, and went to Amsterdam. Here, endea-
vouring to be a minister in the English congregation, and
to join with them in all duties, he was opposed by John
Paget, an elder, on account of some difference between
them about baptism ; upon which he wrote, in his own def
fence, " A Letter to the Dutch Classis, containing a just
complaint against an unjust doer ; wherein is declared the
miserable slavery and bondage that the English church at
> Ath. Ox. Yol. II.— Dotid's Cli. Hist.—Moreri,— Foppeo Bibl. Be1g.-»NiSj»»
JOB, voL XXIII.— AnU). Wood's Life.
X 2
308 DAVENPORT.
Amsterdam is now in, by reason of the tyrannical govern-
ment and corrupt doctrine of Mr. Joiin Paget, tiieir mini-
ster," Amst. 1634. Two or three more pieces relating to
this controversy were published by him afterwards ; and
such were his parts and learning, that he drew away from
them many of their congregation, to whom he preached
and prayed in private houses.
In the beginning of the rebelUon, he returned into Eng-
land, according to Wood, as other nonconformists did,
and had a cure bestowed on him ; but Neal says he came
back in disguise, which is most probable, as this happened
about 1637, when the power of the church was yet in
force. In this year he went into New-England, and be-
came a pastor of New-Haven there. He afterwards re-
jiioved from thence to Boston in 1668, where he died
March 15, 1670. He was the author of, a " Catechism
containing the chief heads of the Christian religion," which
was printed at London in 1659; several sermons; the
power of congregational churches asserted and vindicated ;
and of an exposition of the Canticles, which has never
been published. Neal agrees that his notions of church-
discipline were very rigid, and that he was a millenarian,
being fully persuaded in his own mind of the thousand
years' personal reign of Christ upon earth ; but adds, that
notwithstanding this or any other singular notions he might
entertain, he was one of the greatest men that New Eng-
land ever enjoyed.*
DAVID (St.), the patron of Wales, was the son of
Xantus or Santus, prince of Ceretica, now Cardiganshire,
and born about the close of the fifth century. Being
brought up to the church, he was ordained priest; he then
retired to the Isle of Wioht, and for some time lived in
the accustomed solitude of those times. PVom this he at
length emerged, and went into Wales, where he preached
to the Britons. He built a chapel at Glastonbury, and
founded twelve monasteries, the principal of which was in
the vale of Ross, near Mencvia. Of this monastery fre-
quent mention is made in the acts of the Irish saints. The
rules he established for his monasteries were, as usual;
rigid, but not so injudicious or absurd as some of the early
monastic statutes. One of his penances was manual la-
bour in agriculture, and, for some time at least, there was
' *th. Oy. vol. II. — Neal's History of New Englaml, vol II.
DAVID. 309
no accumulation of worldly goods, for whoever was admit-
ted as a member, was enjoined to leave every thing of iliat
kind behind him. When the synod of Brevy in Cardigan-
shire was held in the year 5 1 'J, 8t. David was invited to it, and
was one of its chief champions against Pelagianism. At tiie
close of this synod, St. Dubricius, archbishop of Caerleon
upon Usk, resigned his see to St. David, who translated
it to Menevia, now called St. David's. Here he died about
the year 544 in a very advanced age. He is praised by his
biographers for his eloquence and powers in conversion,
and has, accordinsf to them, been in all succeedin<r aires
the glory of the British church. He wrote the " Decrees
of the Synod of Victoria," which he called soon after he
became bishop ; the " Rules of his Monasteries ;" some
" Homilies," and " Letters to king Arthur," all of which
have perished.'
DAVID, the greatest philosopher that ever Armenia
produced, flourished about the middle of the fifth century,
and acquired at Athens the knowledge of the language and
the philosophy of the Greeks. He translated such of their
books as he thought the most useful. Far from supersti-
tiously following Plato and Aristotle, like our European
doctors, he selected from both the one and the other what
seemed just and judicious to him, at the same time detect-
ing and refuting their errors. His writings were preserved
in the French king's library, and probably are now in the
imperial. They are methodical and solid. His st}le is
flowing, accurate, and clear. ^
DAVID (George), a most extraordinary fanatic, was
the son of a waterman of Ghent, and educated a srlazier,
or, as some say, a glass- painter. He began about 1525
to preach that he was the true Messiah, the third David,
nephew of God, not after the flesh, but after the spirit.
** The heavens," he said, " being empty, he was sent to
adopt children worthy of that kingdom ; and to restore
Israel, not by death, as Christ, but by grace." With the
Sadducees, he denied eternal life, the resurrection, and
the last judgment : with the Adamites, he was against mar-
riage, and for a community of women : and with the follow-
ers of Manes, he thought that the body only, and not the
soul, could be defiled with sin. According to him, the
1 Butler's Lives of the Saints. — Wharton's Anglia Sacra.— Tanner.
2 Diet. Hiet.— Moreri.
310 15 A V I D.
Sbuls of unbelievers ought to be saved, and those of the
apostles damned. Lastly, he affirmed it folly to believe
that there was any sin in denying Jesus Christ ; and ridi-
culed the martyrs for preferring death to apostacy. A
prosecution being commenced against him and his follow-
ers, he fled first to fViesland, and from thence to Basil,
where he lurked under the name of John Brnck. He died
in that city in 1556, promising to his disciples, that he
shouhl rise again in three days ; which, as it happened,
was not altogether false ; for the magistrates of Basil, un-
derstanding at length who he was, about that time, dug
up his corpse, wliich, together with his writings, they
caused to be burned by the common executioner. This
George David had many followers in his life-time, and it
is even said that there are still some remains of them in
Holstein, Friesland, and other countries, whose temper
6,nd conduct seem to discredit the exaggerated account
which some writers have given of their founder.'
DAVID DE DINANT^ See DINANT.
DAVIES (John), D. D, an eminent writer and anti-
quary, was born in the latter part of the sixteenth century
in Denbighshire, and educated by William Morgan, after-
wards bishop of St. Asaph. He was admitted a student of
Jesus-college, Oxford, in 1589, where he took one degree
in arts, and afterwards became a member of Lincoln-col-
lege in the same university. He was rector of Malloyd, or
Maynlloyd in Merionethshire, and afterwards a canon of
St. vVsaph, to which dignity he was promoted by Dr. Parry,
then bishop, whose chaplain he was. He commenced
doctor in 1616, and was highly esteemed by the university,
says Wood, as well versed in the history and antiquities of
his own nation, and in the Greek and Hehrew languages ;
a most exact critic, and indefatigable searcher into ancient
writings, and well acquainted with curious and rare au-
thors. The time of his death is not known. His works
are, 1. " Antiquae Linguse BritannicoC nunc communiter
dictic Cambro-BritanniciE, a suis Cymroecae vel Camhricte,
ab aliis Wailicce rudimenta," &c. 1621, 8vo. 2. " Dic-
tionarinn) Latino-Britannicum," 1632, folio. With this is
])rinied, " Dictionarium Latino-Britannicum," which was
begun and greatly advanced by Thomas Williams, physi-
cian, before 1600. It was afterwards completed and pub-
• Moreri.'— Mosbeim.
I) A V I E S. 311
lished by Dr. Davies, 3. " Adagia Britannica, autliorum
Biitannicorum notniiia, &. qiiando Horuerunt," 1632, printed
at the end of the dictionary before mentioned, 4. " Ada-
giorum Britanniconnn specimen," M.S. Bibl. Bodl. He
also assisted W. Morgan, bishop of Landaff, and Richard
Parry, bishop of St. Asaph, in translating the Bible into
Welsh, in that correct edition which came out in 1620,
He also translated into the same lanonase (which he had
studied at vacant honrs tor 30 years) the book uf '• lieso-
lution," written by Robert Parsons, a Jesuit. '
DAVIES (John), an eminent and learned critic,
was the son of a n)erchant in London, and born there
April 22, 1679. Alter being educated in classical learning
at the Charterhouse-school, lie was, June 8, 1695, admit-
ted of Queen's-college in Cand)ridge, wliere he tool; the
degree of B. A. in 1698. (3n July 7, 1701, he was chosen
fellow of his colleoe ; and the year followiufj took the de-
grce of M. A, and was proctor in 1709. In 17 11, having
distinguished himself by several learned publications here-
after mentioned, he was collated by Moore, bishop of Ely,
to the rectory of Fen-Ditton near Cambridge, and to a
prebend in the church of Ely ; taking the same year the
degree of LL. D. Upon the death of Dr. James, or, as
Bentham says. Dr. Humphrey Gower, he was, on March
23, 1716-17, chosen master of Queen's-college; and
created D. D. the same year, when George I. was at Cam-
bridge. He died March 7, 1731-2, aged 53, and was bu-
ried in the chapel of his college, where a flat marble stone
was laid over his grave, with a jjlain inscription at his own
desire. His mother, who was dauuhter of sir John Tur-
ton, knt. is said to have been living in 1743.
This learned man was not, as far as we can find, the author
of any original works, but only employed himself in publish-
ing some correct editions of Greek and Latin authors of an-
tiquity. In 1703 he published in octavo, 1. " Maxinii Tyrii
dissertationes, Gr. & Lat. ex interpretatione Heinsii," &c.
2. " C. Julii Ciesaris, et A. Hirtii qua) extant omnia," Cant.
1706, 4to; 1727; the latter the best edition. 3. " AL Mi-
nucii Felicis Octavius," Cant. 1707, 8vo. This was printed
again in 171 2, 8vo, with the notes greatly enlarged and cor-
rected, and the addition of Commodianus, a writer of the
Cyprianic age. 4. He then projected new and beautiful
1 Ath, Ox. rd. I.— LeUcrs fiom Gent. Mag. vol. LX. p. 23.
312 D A V I E S.
editions of Cicero's philosophical pieces, by way of sup-
plement to what GrtBvius had published of that author;
and accordingly published in I70y, his " Tusculanarum
disputationum, libri quinque," 8vo. This edition, and
that of 1738, which is the fourth, have at the end the
emendations of his intimate friend Dr. Bentley. The other
pieces were published by our author in the following order :
*• De Natura Deorum," 1718. " De divinatione & de
fato," 1721. "Academica," 1725. " De legibus," 1727.
*' De finibus bonorum & malorum," 1728. These several
pieces of Tully were printed in 8vo, in a handsome man-
lier, were very favourably received, and have passed, most
of them, through several editions. He had also gone as
far as the middle of the third book of Cicero's Offices ;
but being prevented by death from finishing it, he recom-
ihended it in his will to the care of Dr. Mead, who put it
into the hands of Dr. Thomas Bentley, that he migiit fit
and prepare it for the press. But the house where Dr.
Bentley lodged, which was in the Strand, London, being
set on fire through his carelessness, as it is said, by read-
inc: after he was in bed, Davies's notes and emendations
perished in the flames. 5. Another undertaking published
by our learned author, which we have not already men-
tioned, was, '' Lactantii Firmiani epitome divinarum in-
stitutionum," Cantab. 1718, 8vo.
His labours have been well received both at home and
abroad. Abbe d'Olivet in particular, the French transla-
tor of " Cicero de Natura Deorum," gives him just com-
mendations for his beautiful edition of that book ; but
seems afterwards to have altered his opinion, as appears
from the harsh judgment he passed upon him, in the pre-
face to his new edition of Cicero's works.*
DAVIES (Sir John), a poet and statesman, was the
third son of John Davies, of Tisbury, in Wiltshire, not a
tanner, as Anthony Wood asserts, but a gentleman, for-
merly of New Inn, and afterwards a practitioner of law in
his native place. His mother was Mary, the daughter of
Mr, Bennett, of Pitt-house in the same county. When
not fifteen years of age he was sent to Oxford, in Michael-
mas term 1585, where he was admitted a commoner of
Queen's college, and prosecuted his studies with perse-
verance and success. About the beginning of 1588 he
• Biog. Brit. — Cole's MS Athenae in Brit. Mu».— Nichols's Bowyer.
D A V I E S. 313
removed to the Middle Temple, but returned to Oxford
in 1590, anl took ttie degree of B. A. At the Temj)le,
wliile he did not neglect the study of the law, he rendered
himself obnoxious to tlie discipline of the place by various
youthful irregularities, and after being fined, was at last
removed from commons. Notwithstanding this, he was
called to the bar in 1595, but was again so indiscreet as to
forfeit his privileges by a quarrel with Mr. Richard Martin,
whom he beat in the Temple hull. For this offence he
was in Feb. 1597-8 expelled by the unanimous sentence of
the society. Martin was, like himself, a wit and a poet,
and had once been expelled for improper behaviour. Both,
however, outlived their follies, and rose to considerable
eminence in their profession. Martin became reader of
the society, recorder of London, and member of parliament,
and enjoyed the esteem of Selden, Ben Jonson, and other
men of learning and genius, who lamented his premature
death in 1618,
After this affair Davies returned to Oxford, where he
is supposed to have written his poem on the " Immortality
of the Soul," There is some mistake among his biogra-
phers as to the time of its publication, or even of its be-
ing written. If, as they all say, he wrote it at Oxford in
1598, and published it in 1599, how is either of these
facts to be reconciled with the dedication to queen P^liza-
beth, which is dated July 11, 1592? Mr, Park, whose
accuracy and zeal for literary history induced him to put
this question to the readers of the Biographia Britannica,
has not attempted a solution, and it must remain in this
state, unless an edition of the " Nosce Teipsum" can be
found of a prior date, or any ground for supposing that
the date of the dedication was a typographical error. This
poem, however, procured to him, as he deserved, a very
high distinction among the writers of his time, whom, in
harmony ^f versification, he has far surpassed. Whether
Elizabeth bestowed any marks of her favour does not ap-
pear. He knew, however, her love of fiattery, and wrote
twenty-six acrostic hymns on the words " Elizabetha re-
gina," which are certainly the best of their kind.
It is probable that these complimentary trifies made him
known to the courtiers, for when the queen was to be en-
tertained by Mr. Secretary Cecil, our poet, by desire,
contributed his share in " A Conference between a gen-
tleman usher and a post," a dramatic entertainment, which
5li D A V I E S.
<Joes not add much to his reputation. A copy exists in the
British Museum, Harl. MS. No. 286. His progress from
being the terrae filius of a court to a seat in parUament is
not known, but we find that he was chosen a member in
the last parliament of Elizabeth, which met on the 27th of
October 1601. He appears to have commenced his po-
litical career with spirit and intelligence, by opposing
monopolies, which were at that time too frequently granted,
and strenuously supporting the privileges of the house, for
which the queen had not the greatest respect.
In consequence of the figure he now made, and after
suitable apologies to the judges, he was restored in Trinity
term 1601 to his former rank in the Temple. Lord chan-
cellor Ellesmere appears to have stood his friend on this
occasion, and Davies continued to advance in his profes-
sion, until the accession of James I. opened new prospects.
Having gone with lord Hunsdon to Scotland to congra-
tulate the new king, the latter, finding that he was the
author of " Nosce Teipsum," graciously embraced him,
as a mark of his friendship, and certainly no inconsiderable
proof of his taste.
In I60'i he was sent as solicitor-general to Ireland, and
immediately rose to be attorney-general. Being after-
wards appointed one of the judges of assize, he conducted
himself with so much prudence and humanity on the
circuits as greatly to contribute to allay the ferments which
existed in that country, and received the praises of his
superiors, " as a painful and well-deserving servant of his
majesty." In Trinity term 1606 he was called to the de-
gree of serjeant-at-law, and received the honour of knight-
hood on the nth of February 1607. His biographer at-
tributes these promotions to the patronage of lord Elles-
mere and the earl of Salisbury, with whom he corre-
sponded, and to whom he sent a very interesting account of
a circuit he performed with the lord-deputy in July 1607.
Such was Ireland then, that a guard of " six or seven score
foot and fifty or three score horse" was thought a neces-
sary protection against a peasantry recovering from their
wildness.
In 1608 he was sent to Enoland with the chief iustice
in order to represent to king James the effects which the
establishment of public peace, and these progresses of the
law, had produced since the commencement of his majesty's
reign. His recejition on such an occasion could not but
I) A V I E S. 315
tje favourable. As his residence in Ireland adoriled him
many opportunities to study the history and genius of that
people, he published the result of his inquiries in 1612
under the title of <♦ A Discovery of the true causes why
Ireland was never entirely subdued till the beginning of
his majesty's reign." This has been reprinted four times,
and has always been considered as a most valuable docu-
ment for political inquirers. Soon after the publication of
it he was appointed the king's scrjeant, and a parliament
having been called in Ireland in the same year, he was
elected representative for the county of Fermanagh, the
first that county had ever chosen ; and after a violent
struggle between the Roman catholic and protestant mem-
bers, he was chosen speaker of the house of commons. In
1614 he interested himself in the restoration of the society
of antiquaries, which had been institued in 1590, but af-
terwards discontinued, and was now again attempted to be
revived by sir James Ley; at this period it could enume-
rate among its members the names of Cotton, Hackwell,
Camden, Stow, Spelman, and Whitlock. In 1715 he pub-
lished " Reports of Cases adjudged in the king's courts
in Ireland." These, says his biographer, were the first
reports of Irtsh judgments which had ever been made
public during the four hundred years that the laws of Eng-
land had existed in that kingdom. To the Reports is an-
nexed a preface, addressed to lord chancellor Ellesmere,
" which vies with Coke in solidity and learning, and equals
Blackstone in classical illustration and elegant language."
In 1616 he retired from Ireland, and found that a
change had taken place in the English administration. He
continued, however, as king's serjeant, in the practice of
the law, and was often associated as one of the judges of
assize. Some of his charges on the circuits are still ex-
tant in the British Museum. In 1620 we find him silting
in the English parliament for Newcastle-under-Line, where
he distinguished himself chiefly in debates on the affairs of
Ireland, maintaining, against Coke and other very high
authorities, that England cannot make laws to bind Ire-
land, which had an independent parliament. Amidst these
employments he found leisure to republish his " Nosce
Teipsum" in 1622, along with his " Acrostics" and " Or-
chestra," a poem on the antiquity and excellency of danc-
ing, dedicated to Charles prince of Wales, originally ptib-
iished in t5i>C, But this first edition has escaped the
S16 D A V I E S.
researches of modern collectors, and the poem, as we now
find it, is imperfect. Wuether i: was not so in the first
edition may be doubted. His biographer thinks it was
there perfect, but why afterwards mutilated cannot be
ascertained.
Sir John Davies lived four years after this publication,
employed, probably, io the duties of his profession ; and
at the time when higrher honours were within his reach, he
died suddenly of an apoplexy in the night of the 7ih of
December 1626, in the fifty-seventh year of his age. He
had previously supped with the lord keeper Coventry, who
gave him assurances of being chief justice of England.
He v\as buried in St. Martm's Church in the Fields, where
a monument was erected to his memory, which appears to
have been destroyed when the old church was pulled down.
He married, while in Ireland, Eleanor, the third daughter
of lord Audiev, by whom he had one son, who was an
idiot and died young, and a daughter, Lucy, who was
married to Ferdinando lord Hastings, afterwards earl of
Huntingdon. Sir John's lady appears to have been an
enthusiast ; a volume of her prophecies was published in
1649, 4 to. Anthony Wood informs us that she foretold
the death of her husband, who turned the matter off with
a jest. She was harshly treated during the republic for
her officious prophecies, and is said to have been confined
several years in Bethlem hospital, and in the Tower of
London, where she suffered all the rigour that could be
intlicted by those who would tolerate no impostures but
their own. She died in 16.52, and was interred near her
husband in St. Martin's church. The late earl of Hunting-
don intormed lord Mountmorres the historian of the Irish
parliament, t}:at sir John Davies did not appear to have
acquired any landed property in Ireland from his great
employments. The character ot sir John Davies as a law-
yer, is that of great ability and learning. As a politician
he stands unimpeached of corruption or servility, and his
*' Tracts" are valued as the re5'-:!t of profound knowledge
and investigation. Thev were republi^hed with some origi-
nals in 1786 by Mr. George Chalmers, who prefixed a Lite of
the Author, to which the present sketch is greatly indebted.
As a poet, he was one of the first of his day, but has
been unaccountably neglected, although his style ap-
proaches the refinement of modern times. The best ar-
biters of poetical merit, however, seem to be ccrreed that
D A V I E S. 317
his " Nosce Teipsum" is a noble monument of learning,
acuteness, command of language, and facility of versitica-
tion. It has none, indeed, of tiie sublinicr flights which
seem adapted to philosophical poetry, but he is particu-
larly happy in his images, which strike by their novelty
and elegance. As to his versification, be has anticipated
the harmony which the modern ear requires, more suc-
cessfully than any of his contemporaries.
His " Orchestra," if we consider the nature of the sub-
ject, is a wonderful instance of what a man of genius may
elicit from trifles. His *' Acrostics" are considered as the
best ever written, but that praise is surely not very great.
It is amusing, however, to contemplate him gra\ely en-
deavouring to overcome the diflficulties he had created,
and seeking with great care to exchange an intruding word
for one better suited to his favourite initials.
According to Wood, he wrote a version of some of the
Psalms, which is probably lost. It is more certain that he
wrote epigrams, which were added to Marlow's translation
of Ovid's Epistles, printed at Middleburgh in 1596. Mr.
Ellis has given two of them among his " Specimens,'*
which do not excite much curiosity for the rest. IVIarlow's
volume is exceedinfrlv scarce, which mav be accounted for
by the following information: in 1599, the hall of the
stationers underwent as great a purgation as was carried on
in don Quixote's library. Marston's Pvgmalion, Marlow's
Ovid, the satires of Hall and Marston, the epigrams of
Davies, &c. were ordered for immediate conflagration by
the prelates \V'hitgift and Bancroft. There are other
pieces frequently ascribed to sir John Davies, which, Mr.
Ritson thinks, belong to John Davies of Hereford, but as
our author superintended the edition of his poems printed
about four years before his death, he included all that he
thought proper to acknowledge, and probablv, if we ex-
cept the epigrams, nearly all that he had written. The
lord Dorset recommended an edition of his works to Tate,
who published the " Nosce Teipsum," with the preface.
In 1773 another edition was published by Mr. Thomas
Davies from a copy corrected by Mr. William Thom-
son, the poet, including the "Acrostics" and "Orchestra.'*
The whole have been added to the late edition of the Poets.*
■- ' Johnson and Chalmers's English Poets, 1810. — Biog. Brit. — Life, by Mr.
George Chahners, pr» fixed to bis Tracts. — Wartoa's Hist, of Poetry. — EUis's
Specimens. — Ath. Ov. vol. I. £cc. &c.
315 DAVIE S.
DAVIES (John), a translator of some note in the se-
venteenth century, was born at Kidwelly in Carmarthen-
shire, May 25, 1625, and first educated in Jesus college,
Oxfoid, which he entered in May 1641, and where he
continued until Oxford became the seat of the civil war,
when his relations removed him to St, John's college, Cam-
bridn-e. Here he conformed to the professions of the
republican party, but was better employed in studying the
French tongue, and afterwards, during a visit to France,
made himself com[)lete master of it. On his return he
settled in London, and lived entirely by translating for the
booksellers, writing prefaces, and superintending editions
of books. He appears to have retired afterwards to Kid-
welly, his native place, where he died July 22, 1693,
leaving, says Wood, " the character of a genteel, harm-
less, and quiet man." W^ood has given a list of upwards
of thirty volumes translated by him on various subjects, the
choice probably of his employers, history, travels, novels,
lives, criticism, medicine, &c. *
DAVIES (Miles), a Welsh clergyman, was born in
Tre'r-Abbot, in Whiteford parish, Flintshire. Of his per-
sonal history little is known, except that he was a good
scholar, very conversant in the literary history of his coun-
try, and very unfortunate in attempting to turn his know-
lege to advantage. He was a vehement foe to Popery,
Arianism, and Socinianism, and of the most fervent loyalty
to George I. and the Hanoverian succession. Owing to
some disgust, he quitted his native place, and probably his
profession when he came to London, as he subscribes' him-
self " counsellor-at-law ;" and in one of his volumes has a
long digression on law and law-writers. Here he com-
menced author in the humblest form, not content with
dedicating to the great, but hawking his books in person
from duor to door, where he was often repulsed with rude-
ness, and seldom appears to have been treated with kind-
ness or liberality. How long he carried on this unpros-
perous business, or when he died, we have not been able
to discover. Mr. D' Israeli, who has taken much pains to
rescue his name from oblivion, suspects that his mind be-
came disordered from poverty and disappointment. He
appears to have courted the Muses, who certaitdy were
;iot very favourable to his addresses. The most curious, of
> Ath. Ox. vol, II.
D A V I E S. 31J
his works consist of some volumes under the general title
of " Athenge Britannicac," 8vo, 1715, &c. a kind of bib-
liographical, biographical, and critical work, *' the greatest
part (says Baker, the antiquary) borrowed from modern
historians, but containing some things more uncommon,
and not easily to be m.et with." The first of these vo-
lumes, printed in 1715, is entitled Eixojv M(«fo-/3i^M«»i, sive
Icon Libellorum, or a Critical History of Pamphlets." In
this he styles himself " a gentleman of the inns of court."
The others are entitled " Athenre Britannicae, or a Critical
History of the Oxford and Cambridge \V'riters and Writ-
ings, kc. by M. D." London, 171G, 8vo. They are all of
BO great rarity, that Dr. Farmer never saw but one volume,
the first, nor Baker but three, which were sent to him as a
great curiosity by the earl of Oxford, and are now depo-
sited in St. John's college, Cambridge. In the British
Museum there are seven. From the " Icon Libellorum,"
the only volume we have had an opportunity of perusing
attentively, the author appears to have been well acquainted
with English authors, their works and editions, and to have
occasionally looked into the works of foreign bibliographers.'
DAVIE8 (Samuel), an American clergyman of dissent-
ing principles, and known by tliree volumes of sermons, in
yvo, edited by Dr. Gibbons, of London, was born Novem-
ber 3, 1724, in the county of Newcastle in Delaware, in
America, and was early designed by his parents for the
ministry, in which he became very popular. In 1759 he
succeeded Mr. Jonathan Edwards as president of his col-
lege of New Jersey, which he held to his death, Feb.
4, 1761. He was succeeded in his post by the rev. Dr.
5, Finley, who died on the 1 7th of July 1766, being the
fourth president that filled that chair in the short space of
less than nine years. In the sermons above mentioned
Mr. Davies deserves little praise for style, and his editor
not much for judgment of selection.^
DAVIES (Snkyd), the son of a physician who practised
in Wales, was born at Shrewsbury, and educated at Eton,
whence he removed to King's college, Cambridge, and
regularly took the degrees of A. B. 1732, A. M. 1737, and
D, D. 1759. He was early noticed by his school-fellow,
Cornwallis, archbishop of Canterbury, when bishop of
' Pennant's Hist, of Whiteford, p. 115.— D'Tsraeli's Calamities of Authors.
' Dr. GJbbuns's Fiinpia! Sarmon for PreiiUent Davies, 1761, 8vo.
320 D A V I E S.
Lichfield and Coventry, who appointed him his chaplain,
and collated him to a canonry of Lidifield, and in 1751
presented him to the mastership of St, John's hospital,
Lichfield. He was also archdeacon of Derhy, and rector
of Kingsland, in Herefordshire, in the gilt of his family.
He died Feb. 6, 1769, mucli esteemed for his learning and
amiable disposition; and his numerous poems, both printed
and manuscript, bear ample testimony to his talents. He
wrote several of the anonymous imitations of Horace in
Duncombe's edition, 1767, and at the end of vol. IV. is
given the character of the ancient Romans from a poem
by him, styled " 'I'he Progress of Science." He has many
poems in Dodsley's and Nichols's collections, and one, in
Latin, preserved in the " Alumni Etonenses." Mr. Pen-
nant also, in his " Tour in Wales," vol. H. p. 422, has
preserved some animated lines by Dr. Davies on Caractacus,
which he says were delivered almost extempore at one of
the annual meetings held on Caer Caradoc some years
ago by gentlemen from different parts, to celebrate the
name of that renowned British chieftain, in prose or verse. *
DAVIES (Thomas), a man of considerable talents, and
who prided himself on being through life " a companion
of his superiors," was born about 1712. In 1728 and
1729 he was at the university of Edinburgh, completing
his education, and became, as Dr. Johnson used to say of
him, " learned enough for a clergyman." That, however,
was not his destination, for in 1736 we find him among the
dramatis personse of Lillo's celebrated tragedy of " Fatal
Curiosity," at the theatre in the Haymarket, where he
was the original representative of young Wilmot, under
the management of Henry Fielding. He afterwards com-
menced bookseller in Duke's court, opposite the church
of St. Martin-in-the-fields, and afterwards in Round
court in the Strand, but met with misfortunes which in-
duced him to return to the theatre. For several years he
belonged to various companies at York, Dublin, and other
places, particularly at Edinburgh, where he appears to
have been at one time the manager of the theatre. At
York he married miss Yarrow, daughter of a performer
there, whose beauty was not more remarkable than the
blamelessness of her conduct and the amiablencss of her
' Nichols's and Dodsley's Poems. — Harwood's Alumni Etonenses. — Chiirton's
Liv«s ot the rouiidera of Biazeniiose college, p. ^fB.
D A V I E S. 32%
manners. In 1753 he returned to London, and witli Mrs,
Davies was engaged at Drury-lane, where they reniaiiied
for several years in good estimation with the town, and
played many characters, if not with great excellence, at
least with propriety and decency. Churchill, in his indis-
criminate satire, has attempted to fix some degree of ridi-
cule on Mr. Davies's perfonftance, which, just or not, had
the elFect of driving him from the stage, which ahout 1762
he exchanged for a shop in Russel-street, Covent Garden ;
but his efforts in trade were not crowned with the success
which his abilities in his profession merited. In 1778 he
became a bankrupt; when, such was the regard enter-
tained for him by his friends, that they readily consented
to his re- establishment ; and none of them, as he says him-
self, were more active to serve him than those who had
suffered most by his misfortunes. Yet, all their efforts
might possibly have been fruitless if his powerful and firm
friend Dr. Johnson had not exerted himself to the utmost
in his behalf. He called upon all over whom he had any
influence to assist Tom Davies ; and prevailed on Mr.
Sheridan, patentee of Drury-lane theatre, to give him a
benefit, which he granted on the most liberal terms. In
1780, by a well-timed publication, the " Life of David
Garrick," which has passed, through several editions, Mr.
Davies acquired much fame, and some money. He af-
terwards published " Dramatic Miscellanies," in 3 vols,
of which a second edition appeared a few days only before
the author's death. His other works are, 1. " Some Me-
moirs of Mr. Henderson." 2. " A Review of lord Chester-
field's Characters." 3. A " Life of Massinger." 4. Lives
of Dr. John Eachard, sir John Davies, and Mr. Lillo,
prefixed to editions of their works, published by Mr. Da-
vies ; and fugitive pieces without number in prose and
verse in the St. James's Chronicle, and almost all the pub-
lic newspapers. The compiler of this article in the last
edition of tliis Dictionary, informs us that he " knew him
well, and has passed many convivial hours in his company
at a social meeting, where his lively sallies of pleasantry-
used to set the table in a roar of harmless merriment.
The last time he visited them he wore the appearance of a
spectre ; and, sensible of his approaching end, took a so-
lemn valediction of all the company." Mr. Davies died
the 5th of May, 17S5, and was buried, by his own desire,
in the vault of St. Paul, Covent Garden* close by the side
Vol. XL Y
^23 P A V I E S.
of his next door neighbour, the late Mr. Grignion, watch-
maker. Mrs. Davies died Feb. 9, 1801. Tom Davies, as
he was familiarly called, was a good-natured and con-
scientious man in business as in private life, but his thea-
trical bias created a levity not consistent with prudence.
Had he been rich, he would have been liberal : Dr. Camp-
bell used to say he was not a booksdlefj but a gentleman
who dealt in hooks.'''' '
DAVILA (GiLLES Gonzales), a Spanish ecclesiastic,
and historiographer to the king of Spain, was a native of
the town of Avila-, from which he derived his name. He
accomi)anied the cardinal Pierra Deza to Rome, and made
great progress in the study of sacred and profane history.
On his return to Spain, he was presented to a benefice iu
the church of Salamanca ; and being invited to Madrid in
1612, he was appointed king's historiographer for Casiille.
He composed in Spanish, "A History of the Antiquities of
Salamanca ;" the " Life of Alphonso Tostat ;" " Theatro
de las Grandesas de Madrid ;" " Theatro ecclesiastico de
las iglesias *de las Indias;" a life of Henry HI. king of Cas-
tilie, &c. and other works. He died in 1658, upwards of
eighty years old.^
DAVILA (Louis), a Spanish gentleman, native of Pla-
centia, was commander in the order of Alcantara, and ge-
neral of cavalry for Charles V. at the siege of Metz in
1532. The duke of Guise had the command of that place.
Davila sent a trumpet to him to ask for a fugitive slave who
had run off with a horse of great value, which was only a
pretext for gaining an observation of the town. The duke
of Guise was not a man to be so easily imposed upon :
however, he sent him back the horse, which he ransomed
with his own money; and, as the slave had pushed on
/arther, he sent him word, that " he was already a good
way in France ; and that a slave became free on setting
his foot on that ground." He wrote historical memoirs of
the war carried on by that emperor against the protestants
of Germany, printed for the first time in Spain, 1546,
and afterwards translated into Latin and French. The
president Thuanus censures him for his partiality in favour
of Charles V. There is also by him, " Memoires de la
Guerre d'Afrique." ^
' Nichols's Bowyer. — Boswell's Life of Johnson. — Granger's Letters, by Mal-
colm, p. 16 — 69.
» Moreri and Diet. Hist, in Avila. ' Ibid, in Avila.
D A V I L A. 323
DAVILA (Henry Catherine), a celebrated historian,
was the son of Anthony Davila, who was constable of the
kingdom of Cyprus when it was under tlie power of the
Venetians ; but having lost his situation by the conquest
made by the Turks in 1570, retired to Venice, and being
possessed of some property at Sacco in the territory of
Padua, determined to settle there. His son was born in
this place in 1576, and named Henry Catherine, in ho-
nour of Henry IH. and Catherine de Medicis, who had
shown marks of great respect and kindness for the con-
stable, when he was in France a little before the war of
Cyprus. When young Davila had attained his seventh
year, his father sent him to France, where he was placed
under the care of the marechal D'Hemery, who had mar-
ried his father's sister. D'Hemery, who resided at Villars
in Normandy, gave his nephew an excellent education,
and at a suitable age introduced him at court as one of the
pages to the queen mother. At the age of eighteen, he
served in the war aojainst the Leajrue, and distingfuished
himself by an ardour which frequently endangered his life.
In 1 599y the war being concluded by the peace of Ver-
vins, Davila was recalled by his father and by the Vene-
tians, and returned to Italy. The republic of Venice en-
trusted him with various en)ployments, both military and
civil, such as the government of Candy, and of Dalmatia,
and what pleased him most, the title of constable was con-
firmed to him, and in the senate and on all public occa-
sions he took precedence after the doge. The last office
to which he was appointed, but which he never enjoyed,
was that of commander of Crema. On his w^ay to this
place, the dilFerent towns and villages, through which he
was to pass, were ordered to furnish him with a change of
horses and carriages ; but when he arrived at a place near
Verona, and requested the usual supplies, they were de-
nied ; and on his remonstrating, a brutal fellow shot him
dead with a pistol. The assassin was immediately killed
by one of Davila's sons, who happened to be with him.
This misfortune happened in 1631, exactly a year after he
had published, in Italian, his history of the civil wars of
France, under the title " Istoria delle Guerre civili di
Francia," Venice, 4tu, reprinted in 1634, 1638, and often
since. The finest editions are those of Paris, 1644, 2 vols,
folio, and of Venice, 1733, 2 vols, folio. We have two old
translations into English, 1647, by Aylesbury, and 1678,
Y 2
324 D A V I L A.
by Cottre!, folio ; hut the best is that by Farneworth,
1755, 2 vols. 4to. The French have likewise translations
by Baudouin, 1642, and by Grosley and the abbe Mallet,
1757, 3 vols. 4to, and there is a Latin translation by Cor-
nazano, Rome, 1743, 3 vols, 4to.
This history is divided into fifteen books, and contains
every thing worth notice that passed, from the death of
Henry II. 1559, to the peace of Vervins 1598. Lord
Bolingbroke calls it a noble history, and says, that he
*' should not scruple to confess it in many respects equal
to that of Livy." Davila has indeed been accused of too
much refinement and subtlety, in developing the secret
motives of actions, in laying the causes of events too deep,
and deducing them often through a series of progression
too complicated, and too artfully wrought. But yet, as
the noble lord goes on in his " Letters on the Study of
History," 1. v. " the suspicious person, who should reject
this historian upon such general inducements as these,
would have no grace to oppose his suspicions to the autho-
rity of the first duke of Epernon, who had been an actor,
and a principal actor too, in many of the scenes that Da-
vila recites. Girard, secretary to this duke, and no con-
temptible biographer, relates, that this history came down
to the place where the old man resided in Gascony, a little
before his death ; that he read it to him ; that the duke
confirmed the truth of the narrations in it ; and seemed
only surprised, by what means the author could be so well
informed of the most secret councils and measures of those
times."
Davila is unquestionably one of the best of the French
historians, but is liable to the objections made to other
historians, of relying too much on his own invention, all
the speeches and harangues in his narrative being of his
own composition, and adapted to his own sentiments of
the persons and events concerned. Want of variety, it
has also been observed, is sensibly felt in his history : the
events indeed are important and various; but the reader
languishes by a tiresome monotony of character, every
person engaged being figured a consummate politician,
governed hy interest only. His partiality to Catherine of
Medicis may perhaps be forgiven, as she was not only his
great benefactress, but communicated many particulars ta
his history. It may be added that the early editions of
D A V I L A. S25
this history are more incorrect in geography and names
than those wliich are of more recent date. '
DAVIS (Henry Edwards}, son of Mr. John T)uvis, of
Windsor, was born Jnly li, 1756, and educated at Eal-
ing, Mid llesex ; vv.Mence he reniovecl to Bahol colleo-e,
Oxford, May J 7, 1774, where he took his degree of B. A.
abunt January 1778. In the spring of that year he wrote
an Examination of Gibbon's " History of the Decline and
Fall of the Roman Empire," in which he evinceil more
knowledge than is usually found at tiie age of twenty-one.
This was answered by the historian in a Vindication, which
brought out a reply by Mr. Davis, who, it is evi.ient, gave
Gibbon no small uneasiness by attacking him on his vera-
city and fairness of quotation, in which Gibbon fancied
himself impregnable. In 1780, Mr. Davis having taken
his master's degree, and entered into priest's orders, was
made a fellow of his college; anu, for some time before
his death, had the? office of tutor, which he discharged with
a solicitude and constancy too great for the sensibility of
his mind, and the delicacy of his constitution. A linger-
ing illness removed him from the society of his many esti-
mable friends, and deprived the pubhc of his expected
services. Alfected by the strongest and tenderest of those
motives, which endear life and subdue fortitude, he sus-
tained the slow approaches of dissolution, not only resigned
but cheerful, supported by the principles he had well
defended. Feb. 10, 1784, without any apparent change,
between a placid slumber and death, he expired. He was
buried at Windsor, the place of his nativity. He had
cultivated a taste for elegant literature, particularly in
poetry. Though his voice was not strong, his elocution
was distinct, animated, unaffected, and pathetic. The
cheerfulness and vivacity of his conversation, the warmth
and benevolence of his heart, fixed by principle, and ani-
mated by sentiment, rendered him in his private charac-
ter, alike amiable and worthy of esteem. ^
DAVIS (John), an eminent navigator, of the sixteenth
century, was born at Sandridge, in the parish of Stoke-
Gabriel, near Dartmouth in l3evonshire. His birth near
that eminent sea-port, having given him a fair opportunity,
> Tiraboschi. — Moieii. — Le Long's Bibl. Historique. — Niceron, vol. XXXIX.
2 Precedinjf edition of ihis Dictionary.— Gibbon's Miscellaneous Works,
vol. 11.
326 DAVIS,
to which probably was added a strong natural disposition,
he put himself early to sea ; where, by the help of a good
master, and his subsequent industr\% knowledge, and ex-
perience, he became the most expert pilot, and one of the
ablest navigators of his time. The first public employ-
ment he had was in 1385, when he undertook to discover
a new passage, by the north-west parts of America, to the
East-Indies. For that purpose, he sailed from Dartmouth,
on the seventh of June, with two barks, one of fifty and
the otlier of thirty-five tons, which were fitted out at the
charge of some noblemen and gentlemen; and met, July 19,
many islands of ice floating, in 60 degrees northern lati-
tude. They were soon encompassed with them ; and going
upon some, perceived, that the roaring noise they heard,
at which they were greatly astonished, was caused only by
the rolling of the ice together. The next day, they dis-
covered the southern coast of Groenland, five hundred
leagues distant from the Durseys, or Missenhead, in Ire-
land ; and observed it to be extremely rocky and moun-
tainous, and covered with snow, without any signs of wood,
grass, or earth to be seen. The shore, likewise, was so
full of ice, that no ship could come near it by two leagues :
and so shocking was the appearance of it, and the cracking
of the ice so hideous, that they imagined it to be a quite
desolate country, without a living creature, or even any
vegetable substance; for which reason captain Davis named
it, " The Land of Desolation." Perceiving that they were
run into a very deep bay, wherein they were almost sur-
rounded with ice, they kept coasting along the edge of it,
south-south-west, till the 25th of July; when, after hav-
ing gone fifty or sixty leagues, they found that the shore
lay directly north. This made them alter their course to
the north-west, in hopes of finding their desired passage :
but on the 29ih they discovered land to the north-east, in
64 degr. 15 min. latitude. Making towards it, they per-
ceived that they were passed the ice, and were among
many green, temperate, and pleasant islands, bordering
upon the shore ; though the hills of the continent were still
covered with great quantities of snow. Among these
islailds were many fine bays, and good roads for shipping :
they landed in some, and the people of the country came
down and conversed with them by signs, making Mr. Davis
understand, that there was a great sea towards the north
■ '!'! west. He staid in this place till the first of August,
DAVIS. 327
and then proceeded in his discovery. Tlie sixth of that
, montli, they found land in 66 degr. 40 min. hititude, quite
free from ice; and anchored in a safe road, under a great
mouiUaui, the cliffs whereof glistered like gold. This
inouiitain lie named, Mount Raleigh : the road where their
ships lay at anchor, Totness Road : the bay which encom-
passed tlie niouuiain, Exeter Sound : the foreland towards
the north, Dier's Cape : and the foreland towards the
south, Cape \Valsingham. He departed from hence the
eighth of August, coasting aiontj the shore, which lay
souih-south-west, and east-north-east; and on the eleventh
came to the most southerly cape of that land, which he
named, " The Cape of God's Mercy," as being the place
of their first entrance for the discovery. Going forward,
they came into a very fine straight, or passage, in some
places twenty leagues broad, in others thirty, quite free
from ice, the weather in it very tolerable, and the water of
the same colour and nature as the main ocean. This pas-
sage still retains the name of its first discoverer, being
called to this day Fretum Davis, or Davis's Straights.
Having sailed, north-west, sixty leagues in this passage,
they discovered several islands in the midst of it; on some
of which they landed. The coast was very barren, with-
out wood or grass ; and ihe rocks were like fine marble,
full of veins of divers colours. Some days after they con-
tinued searching for the north-west passage, but found
only a great nundfer of islands. And, on the 20th, the
wind coming contrary, they altered their course and de-
sign, and returning for England, arrived at Dartmouth the
29th of Sej)tember. 'I he next year Mr. Davis undertook
a second voyage, for the farther discovery of the north-west
passage, being supported and encouraged again by secre-
tary Walsingh-am, and other adventurers. With a view
therefore of searching the bottom of the Straights he had
been in the year before, he sailed from Dartmouth, May
the 7th, 1586, with four ships, and the 15ih of June dis-
covered land in 60 degrees latitude, and 47 desrrees Ion-
gitude west from London. The ice along the coast reached
in some places ten, in some twenty, and in others fifty
leagues into the sea; so that, to avoid it, they were forced
to bear into 57 degrees latitude. After many tempestuous
storms, they made the land again, June the 29th, in 64
degrees of latitude, and 58 of longitude ; and ran among
the temperate islands they had been at the year before.
328 DAVIS.
But the water was so deep, they could not easily come to
an anchor ; yet they found means to go ashore, on some
of the islands, where they were much caressed and wel-
comed by the natives, wiio knew them again. Havings
finished a pinnace, which was to serve them for a front in
their discoveries, they landed, not only in that, but also
in their boats, in several places : and, upon the strictest
search, found the land not to be a continent, as they ima-
gined, but a collection of huge, waste, and desert isles,
with great sounds and inlets passing between sea and sea.
They pursued their voyage the 11th of July, and on the
17th, in 63 degrees 8 minutes latitude, met with a prodi-
gious mass of ice, which they coasted till the 30th. This
was a great obstacle and discouragement to them, not
having tlie like there the year before ; and, besides, the
men beginning to grow sickly, the crew of one of the
ships, on which he chieHy depended, forsook him, and re-
solved to proceed no farther. However, not to disappoint
Mr. W. Sanderson, who was the chief adventurer in this
voyage, and for fear of losing the favour of secretary Wal-
singham, who had this discovery much at heart, Mr. Davis
undertook to proceed alone in his small bark of thirty tons.
Having therefore fitted, and well- victualled it, in a har-
bour lying in 66 degrees 33 minutes latitude, and 70 de-
grees longitude, which he found to be a very hot place,
and full of muscatoes, he set sail the 12th of August, and
coming into a straight followed the course of it for eighty
leagues, till he came among many islands, where the water
ebbed and flowed six fathom deep. He had hopes of find-
ing a passage there, but upon searching farther in his
boat, he perceived there was none. He then returned
again into the open sea, and kept coasting southward as
far as 54 degrees and a half of latitude : in which time he
found another great inlet near forty leagues broad, between
two lands, west, where the water ran in with great violence.
This, he imagined, was the passage so long sought for ;
l)ut the wind being then contrary, and two furious storms
happening soon alter, he neither thought it safe nor wise
to proceed farther, especially in one small bark, and when
the season was so far advanced. He, therefore, sailed for
England the 1 1th of September; and arrived there in the
beginning of October. By the observations which he
piade, he concluded, that the north parts of America are
ftU islt^nda. He made a third voyage to these parts agair^
DAVIS. 329
the year following, 1587. All the western merchants, and
most of tliose of London, refused to be engaged farther in
the undertaking; but it vvas encouraired by the lord trea-
surer Burleigh and se retary Vv'ulsnigham. Mr. Davis
having, in his last voyage, discovered prodigious quanti-
ties of excellent cod-lish, in 56 degrees of latitude, two
ships were sent along with bini for hslung, and one only
for the discover) of the Nortli west passcige. They sailed
from Dartmouth the 19th of Ma), and discovered laud the
14th of June, at sixteen leagues distance, but very moun-
tainous, and covered with snow. On the 21st of June the
two barks left him, and went upon the fishing, after having
promised him, not to depart till his return to them about
the end of August, yet having finished their voyage in
about sixteen days after, they set sail for England without
any regard to their promise. Captain Davis, in the mean
time, pursued his intended discovery, in the sea between
America and Groenland, from 64 to 73 degrees of latitude.
Having entered the Straights which bear his name, he
went on northward, from the 21st to tlie 30th of June;
naming one part Merchants Coast; another, the London
Coast; anotlier, Hope Sanderson in 73 degrees latitude,
being the farthest he went that day. The wind coming
nortiierly, he altered his course, and ran forty leagues
west, without seeing any land. On the 2d of July, he fell
in with a great bank of ice, which he coasted southward
till the 1 9th of July, when he came within sight of Mount
Raleigh on the American coast, in about 67 degrees of
latitude. Having sailed sixty leagues north-west into the
gulf tiiat lies beyond it, he anchored, July 23, at the bot-
tom of that gulf, among many islands, which he named
*' The Earl of Cumberland's Isles " He quilted that place
again the same day, and sailed back south-east, in order
to recover the sea; which he did the 29th in 62 degrees of
latitude. The 30th he passed by a great bank, or inlet, to
which he gave the name of Lumley's Inlet ; and the next
day by a head land, which he called " The Earl of War-
wick's Foreland." On the first of August he fell in with
the southermost cape, named by him Chudley's Cape:
jind, the 12th, passed by an island which he named Darcy's
Island. When he came in 52 degrees of latitude, not
finding the two ships that had promised to stay for him, he
.was in great distress, having but little wood, and only half
,a hogshead of water left; yet, taking courage, he made
330 . D A V I S.
the best of his way home, and ari'ived at Dartmoutli Sep-
teml)er the 15th, very sanguine, that the north-west pas-
sage was most probable, and the execution easy ; but se-
cretary W'alsinghanj dying not long after, all farther search
was laid aside. Mr. Davis, notwithstanding, did not re-
main idle. For, August 26, 1391, he was captain of the
Desire, rear admiral to Mr. Thomas Cavendish, in his se-
cond unfortunate expedition to the South -Sea; and is
highly blamed by Mr. Cavendish, for having deserted him,
and thereby being the cause of his overthrow. After many
disasters, Mr. Davis arrived asrain at Bear-haven in Ire-
land, June 11, 1593. He performed afterwards no less
than five voyages to the East-Indies, in the station of a
pilot. One was in a Dutch ship, in which he set out,
March 13, 1597-8, from Flushing, and returned to Mid-
dleburgb, July 23, 1600, Of the rest we have no account,
except of that which he performed with sir Edward Michel-
bourne, in which were spent nineteen months, from De-
cember 5, 1604, to Jnly 9, 1606. During this voyage
Mr. Davis was killed, on the 27th of December, 1605, in
a desperate fight with some Japonese near the coast of
Malacca. He married Faith, daughter of sir John Fulford,
of Fulford in Devonshire, knight, by Dorothy his wife,
daughter of John lord Bouchier, earl of Bath, by whom
probubly he had issue : for some of his posterity are said to
have been living about the middle of the last century, at
or near Deptford.
*' The account of his second voyage for the Discovery
of the North-west Passage, in 1586," seems to be of bis
composition ; for he speaks always in the first person.
There are likewise in print two letters of his to Mr. San-
derson, one dated from Exeter, October 14, 1586 ; and
the other from Sandridge, September 16, 1587. Hakluyt
has also preserved " A Traverse Booke made by M. John
Davis, in his third voyage for the discoverie of the North- '
west Passage, aimo 15 87," and it appears that he com-
posed a treatise entitled " The World's Hydrographicall
Description," for Hakluyt has extracted from it, and
published, " A report of Master John Davis, of his three
voyages made for the Discovery of the North-west Passage."
His voyage to the East Indies in a Dutch ship, in 1 598, was
written al;50 by himself. It is said that " There is a Rut-
ter, [Iloutier] or Brief Directions for sailing into the East
Indies, digested nito a plain method by this same person.
DAVIS. .331
John Davis, of Limehouse, (as he is there called) written
upon experiment of his five voyages thither, and home
again." But either it was not written hy the same John
Davis, who is the suhject of this article, or else our John
Davis was not killed in the East Indies, as we have said
above upon the authority of Purchas, and of those that
have copied from him.
In tne Index to the first edition of the Biographia, it
is observed, that there is a defect in tlie article of John
Davis, :is it has not mentioned his quadrant for finding out
the latitude at sea. Concerning his main object, how-
ever, the attempt for the discovery of a northern passage
to India, much may be foun;:! in captain Cook's Voyages,
particuhu'ly the introduction to his last voyage.'
DAVl.s, or DAViES (John), of Hereford, as he usually
styled himself, a poet and sclioolmasier, was born in that
city, and sent when young from a grammar-school there,
to the university of ()xford ; but Wood has not discovered
in what college he studied, nor does it appear that he took
any degree. After leaving the university, he returned to
his native place, where he olitained the character of a
poet, and published several productions of the rhyming
kind ; but not finding, as it would indeed have been won-
derful if he had found, much profit accrue, he set up a
writing-school, first at Hereford, and afterwards in London,
where he at length acquired the character of one of the
first penmen in England. In 1611 we find him living in
Fleet-street, and a Roman catholic. From Peck's De-
siderata it appears that Arthur Wilson was one of his
pupils, and that the conversation of Davis and his family
inspired him with some doubts of the religious kind. From
his poems we learn that Davis ,left a brother, James, at
Oxford, who was also a writing-master ; and that he himself
married a wife whose name was Croft, by whom, he says, he
had a " crop of care," meaning, proiiably, a large family.
As a writing-master, he published some engraved books of
instruction, or specimens, but Wassey hds seen only " The
Writing School- master, or Anatomy of Fair Writing," en-
graved, after his death, by Ingheenram, which he thinks
does not support the high character given of his penman-
ship by his contemporaries. It is said he was some time
tutor to prince Henry, who, according to Birch, wrote a
J Biog. Brit, — Prince's Worthies of Devon.
332 DAVIS.
very fine hand. He died about 1618, and, Fuller informs
us, was buried in the church or church-yard ol" St. Giles's
in the Fields.
His poetical works are numerous, but discover very little
taste or talent : 1. " St. Peter's Complaint, witli other
Poems," Loud. 1595, 4to. 2. " Mirum in modo ; a glimpse
of God's glory, and the soul's shape," ibid. 1602, and 1616,
8vo. 3. " IViicrocosmus, or the Discovery of the Little
World," Oxon. 1603, 4to. 4. " The Holy Rood of
Christ's Cliurch," Lond. 1609, 4io, with Sonnets. 5.
" Humours Heaven and Earth, with the civil wars of
Death and Fortune," ibid. 1609, 8vo. 6. " Wit's Pil-
grimage," Lond. 4to, no date. 7. " Muse's Sacrifice, or
Divine Meditations," ibid. 1612, 12mo. 8. " The Muse's
Tears for the loss of their hope, the heroic and never too
much praised Henry, prince of Wales," ibid. 1613, 4to,
&c. &c. &c. Four of these volumes are noticed m the
Censura Literariii, one in Beloe's Anecdotes, and one in
the British Bibliographer, by Mr. Haslewood, whose cha-
racter of Davis's poetry may be adopted with confidence.
" Davis's poetical attempts are generally heavy, dull, ob-
scure, and inharmonious ; and his pages are remarkable
for inconsistency. One while he is potnnng forth celestial
rhapsodies, and then ' with jerkes of wit (as iie terms them)
to whip every vice,' blundering on expressions too gross
for pen or press, while the reader, who may have been
edified by his morality, is left to fill up the blank of a dis-
gusting parenthesis. His witticisms are often feeble puns,
double entendres, and occasionally have their point de-
pending on a fabricated name. Yet though the whole of
his pieces now class as rare, from their number it seems
presumable they were not ill received. To us moderns,
however, there seldom appears poignancy in his wit, or
nerve in his poetry." '
DAVIS (Rowland), an Irish divine, was born near Cork,
in 1649, and educated at Trinity-college, Dublin, where
he took his decrree of LL. D. andvvas accounted an enii-
nent civilian. Having entered into holy orders, he was
promoted to be dean of Cork, and was afterwards vicar-
general of the diocese, both which preferments he retained
until his death ni 1721. He wrote, " A Letter to a friend
' Atli. Ox. vol. I. — Miissey's Origin and Progress of Letters. — Censura Lite-
raria, vol. L IL and V.— liiblicgiaphcr, vol. II. ■247. — Warton's Hist, of
Poetry, vol. IV. p. 15, 56, 87 Whalley's Ben Jonson, vol. VI. p. 230.
DAVIS. 333
concerning his changing his religion," Lond. 1694, 4to.
This friend was a Mr. Turner, recorder of Limerick, wlio
had become a Roman catholic. Dr. Davis published also,
" Tiie truly Catholick and Old Religion, shewing that the
established church in Ireland is more truly a member of
the catholic church, than the church of Rome, and that
all the ancient Christians, especially in Great Britain and
Ireland, were of her communion," Dublin, 1716, 4to.
This was answered the same year by I'imothy O'Brien,
D. D. of Toulouse, a native of Cork, and then parish
priest of Castlelions, in a pamphlet printed at Cork, anony-
mously, to which Dr. Davis replied in " A Letter to the
pretended Answer, &c." O'Brien returned to the charge
with " Goliath beheaded with his own sword," 4to, to
which Dr. Davis replied in " Remarks on a pamphlet en-
titled Goliath, &c." He also published two occasional
sermons, one on the 30th of January, entitled " Christian
Loyalty," 1716, 4to ; the other a charity sermon, Dublin,
17 17, 8vo.'
DAVISON (William), a very eminent statesman, and
secretary of state in the reign of queen Elizabeth, was, if not
a native of Scotland, at least descended from those who were,
as himself professed to sir James Melvile. At what time he
came into the court of queen Elizabeth, or in what state, is
uncertain. It is most probable, that his parts and learning, to-
gether with that extraordinary diligence and wonderful ad-
dress for which he was always distinguished, recommended
him to Mr. Killigrew, afterwards sir Henry Kiiligrew, with
whom he went in quality of secretary, at the time he was sent
into Scotland, to compliment queen Mary upon the birth of
her son. This was in 1566, and there is a good reason to be-
lieve that he remained from that time about the court, and was
employed in several affairs of great consequence. In 1575,
when the states of Brabant and Flanders assumed to them-
selves the administration of all affairs till his catholic ma-
jesty should appoint a new governor of the Low Countries,
Mr. Davison was sent over with a public character from
the queen to those states, under the plausible pretence of
exhorting them to continue in their obedience to his ca-
tholic majesty ; but, in reality, to see how things actuall}'
stood in that part of the world, that her majesty might be
the better able to know how to proceed in respect to the
* Moreri.— Sir James Ware's Works by Harris, vol. U,
334 DAVISON.
several applications made to her from the prince of Orange^
and the people of Holland. He executed this commission
very successfully, and therefore the queen sent him over
as her minister, to pacify the troubles that had arisen at
Ghent ; and when his presence was no longer necessary
there, he was commissioned on her behalf to the States of
Holland, in 1579. His con'duct tliere gave equal satisfac-
tion to the queen his mistress, and to those with whom he
negotiated. He gave them great hopes of the queen's as-
sistance and support, and when a sum of money was de-
sired, as absolutely necessary towards providing for their
defence, he very readily undertook to procure it upon
reasonable security ; in consequence of which, a very con-
siderable sum was sent from England, for which all the
valuable jewels and fine plate that had been pledged by
Matthias of Austria to the States of Holland, and which
were the remains of the magnificence of the house of Bur-
gundy, were transported to England. These journies,
and the success attending them, gave Mr. Davison great
reputation at court, insomuch, that in all matters of a nice
and difficult nature, Davison was some way or other con-
tinually employed. Thus in 1583, when matters wore a
serious aspect in Scotland, he was sent thither as the
queen's ambassador, in order to counteract the French
ministers, and to engage the king of Scots and the people,
both to slight the offers made them from that country, and
to depend wholly upon assistance from England. Affairs
in the Low Countries coming at last to a crisis, and the
states resolving to depend n|jon queen Elizabeth, in the
bold design they had formed of defending their freedom
b}- force of arms, and rendering themsehes independent,
Mr. Davison, at this time clerk of the privy council, was
chosen to manage this delicate business, and to conclude
with them that alliance which was to be the basis of their
future undertakings. In this, which, without question,
was one of the most perplexed transactions in that whole
reign, he conducted things with such a happy dexterity,
as to merit the strongest acknowledgments on the part of
the States, at the same time that he rendered the highest
service to the queen his mistress, and obtained ample se-
curity for those expences which that princess thought
necessary in order to keep danger at a distance, and to en-
courage the flames of war in the dominions of her enemy,
whom at that juncture she knew to be meditating how he
DAVISON. 335
might transfer them into her own. Upon the return of
Mr. Davison into England, alter the conclusion ol' this
treat}-, he was declared of the jjrivy-councii, and appointed
one of her majesty's principal secretaries of state, in con-
junction with sir Francis Walsingham ; so that, at this
time, these offices may be affirmed to have been as well
filled as in any period that can be assigned in our history,
and yet by persons of very different, or rather opposite
dispositions ; for Walsingham was a man of great art and
intrigue, one who was not displeased that he was thought
such a person, and whose capacity was still deeper than
'those who understood it best apprehended it to be. Da-
vison, on the other hand, had a just reputation for wisdom
and probity ; and, though he had been concerned in many
intricate affairs, yet he preserved a character so unspotted,
that, to the time he came into this office, he had done no-
thing that could draw upon him the least imputation. It
is an opinion countenanced by Camden, and which has
met with general acceptance, that he was raised in order
to be ruined, and that, when he was made secretary of
state, there was a view of obliirins,- him to «o out of his
depth in that matter, which brought upon him all his mis-
fortunes. This conjecture is very plausible, and yet there
is good reason to doubt whether it is well founded. Mr.
Davison had attached himself, during the progress of his for-
tunes, to the potent earl of Leicester ; and it was chiefly to
his favour and interest that he stood indebted for this hi"]i
employment, in which, if he was deceived by another great
statesman, it could not be said that he was raised and
, ruined by the same hands. But there is nothing more pro-
bable than that the bringing about such an event by an
instrument which his rival had raised, and then removing
him, and rendering his parts useless to those who had
raised him, gave a double satisfaction to him who managed
this design. It is an object of great curiosity to trace the
principal steps of this transaction, which was, without
doubt, one of the finest strokes of political management in
that whole reign. , When the resolution was taken, in the
beginning of October 1586, to bring the queen of Scots
to a trial, and a commission was issued for that purpose,
secretary Davison's name was inserted in that commission ;
but it does not appear that he was present when that com-
mission was opened at Fotheringay castle, on the llth of
October, or that he ever assisted there at all. Indeed,
336 DAVISON.
the management of that transaction was very wisely left in
the hands of those who with so much address had con-
ducted the antecedent business for the conviction of An-
thony Babingtoii, and his accomphces, upon the truth and
justice of wliich, the proceedings against the queen of
Scots entirely depended. On the 25th of October the
sentence was declared in the star-chamber, things pro-
ceeding still in the same channel, and nothing particularly
done by secretary Davison. On the 29th oi the same
month the parliament met, in which Serjeant Puckering
was speaker of the house of commons ; and, upon an ap-
plication from both houses, queen Elizabeth caused the
sentence to be published, which, soon after, was notified
to the queen of Scots; yet hitherto all was transacted by
the other secretary, who was considered by the nation in
general as the person who had led this prosecution from
bescinninor to end. The true meaning of this long and so-
lemn proceeding was certainly to remove, as far as pos-
sible, any reflection upon queen Elizabeth ; and, that it
might appear in the most conspicuous manner to the world,
that she was urged, and even constrained to take the life
of the queen of Scots, instead of seeking or desiring it.
This assertion is not founded upon conjecture, but is a
direct matter of fact ; for, in her first answer to the par-
liament, given at Richmond the 12th of November, she
complained that the late act had brought her into a great
strait, by obliging her to give directions for that queen's
death ; and upon the second application, on the 24th of
the same month, the queen enters largely into the conse-
quences that must naturally follow upon her taking that
step, and on the consideration of them, grounds her re-
turning no definitive resolution, even to this second appli-
cation. The delay which followed after the jjublication
of the sentence, gave an opportunity for the French king,
and several other princes, to interpose, but more especially
to king James, whose ambassadors, and particularly sir
Robert Melvile, pressed the queen very hard. Camden
says, that his ambassadors unseasonably mixing threaten-
ings with intreaties, they were not very uelcome ; so that
after a few days the ambassadors were dismissed, with
small hopes of succeeding. But we are elsewhere told,
that, when Melvile requested a respite of execution for
eight days, she answered, *' Not an hour." This seemed
to be a plain declaration of her majesty's final determma-
DAVISON. 33^
tion, and such in all probability it was, so that her death
being resolved, the only point that remained under debate
was, how she should die, that is, whether by the hand of
an executioner, or otherwise. In respect to this, the two
secretaries seem to have been of different sentiments. Mr.
Davison thought the forms of justice should go on, and
the end of this melancholy transaction correspond with the
rest of the proceedings. Upon this, sir Francis Walsing-
ham pretended sickness, and did not come to court, and
by this means the whole business of drawing and bringing
the warrant to the queen to sign, fell upon Davison, who,
pursuant to the queen's directions, went through it in the
manner that Camden has related. But it is very remark-
able, that, wliile these judicial steps were taking, the other
method, to which the queen herself seemed to incline,
proceeded also, and secretary Walsingham, notwithstanding
his sickness, wrote the very day the warrant was signed^
which was Wednesday, February 1st, 1586-7, to sir Aniias
Pawlet and sir Drew Drury, to put them in mind of the
association, as a thing that might countenance, at least,
if not justify, this other way of removing the queen of
Scots. It is tru&, that Mr. Davison subscribed this letter,
and wrote another to the same persons two days after ; but
it appears plainly from the answer, that the keepers of
the queen of Scots considered the motion as coming from
Walsingham. The warrant beinsf delivered to the lords
of the council, they sent it down by Mr. Beale, their clerk,
a man of sour and stubborn temper, and who had always
shewn a great bitterness against the queen of Scots. The
day of his departure does not appear; but queen Mary
had notice given her on the Monday, to prepare for deatli
on the Wednesday, which she accordingly suffered. As
soon as queen Elizabeth was informed of it, she expressed
great resentment against her council, forbad them her pre-
sence and the court ; and caused some of them to be
examined, as if she intended to call them to an account
for the share they had in this transaction. We are not
told particularly who these counsellors were, excepting the
lord treasurer Burleigh, who fell into a temporary dis-
grace about it, and was actually a witness against Mr. Da-
vison. As for the earl of Leicester and secretary VV'alsing;-
ham, they had prudently withdrawn themselves at the last
act of the tragedy, and took care to publish so much, by
Vol. XI. Z
35S DAVISON.
their letters into Scotland j but secretary Davison, upon whom
it was resolved the whole weight of this business should fall,
was deprived of his office, and sent prisoner to the Tower, at
which nobody seenjs to have been so much alarmed as the lord
treasurer, who, though himself at that time in disgrace, wrote
to the queen in strong terms, and once intended to have
written in much stronger. This application had no effect,
for the queen having sent her kinsman Mr. Gary, son to the
lord Ilunsdon, into Scotland, to excuse the matter to king
James, charged with a letter to him under her own hand, in
which she in the strongest terms possible asserted her own
innocence, there was a necessity of doing something that
iTiioht carry an air of evidence, in support of the turn she
had now given to the death of that princess. On the 28th
of March .following, Davison, after having undergone va-
rious examinations, was brought to his trial in the star
chamber, for the contempt of which he had been guilty,
in revealing the queen's counsels to her privy counsellors,
and performing what he understood to be the duty of his
office in quality of her secretary. We have several ac-
counts of this trial, which, in a variety of circumstances,
differ from each other. In this, however, they all agree,
that the judges, who fined him ten thousand marks, and
imprisonment during the queen's pleasure, gave him a very
high character, and declared him to be, in their opinions,
both an able and an honest man. One thing is very remark-
able, that, in the conclusion of this business, sir Christo-
pher Wray, chief justice of the queen's bench, told the
court, that though the queen had been offended with her
council, and had left them to examination, yet now she
for<i-ave them, being satisfied that they were misled by this
man's suggestions. Sir James Melvile, who wrote at that
time, and who seems to have had some prejudice against
Davison, said very candidly and fairly upon this occasion,
that he was deceived by the council. As soon as the pro-
ceeding was over, the queen, to put it out of doubt with
the king of Scots, that his mother was put to death with-
out her privity or intention, sent him the judgment given
against Davison, subscribed by those who had given it, and
exemplified under the great seal, together with another
instrument, under the hands of all the judges of England,
that the sentence against his mother could not in the least
prejudice his title to the succession. As for Mr. Davison,
novv left to a strange reward for his past services, a long
DAVISON. 3«9
imprisonment, which reduced him to indigence, he com-
forted himself with the thoughts of his innocence; and, to
secure his memory from being blasted by that judgment
which had withered his fortune, he had long before written
an apology for his own conduct, which he addressed to
secretary Walsinghain, as the man most interested in it,
and who could best testify whether what he affirmed was
truth or not. In this he gave a very clear and natural de-
tail of the transaction which cost him all his sufferings. It
is allowed by all who have written on this subject, and
especially by Camden, that he was a very unhappy, though
at the same time a very capable and honest man. As
such we have seen him recommended to queen Elizabeth
by the treasurer Burleigh, and as such he was strongly
recommended by the earl of Essex to king James I. It
seems, that noble person stuck fast by him under his mis-
fortunes, which plainly shews the party to which he had
always adhered. That lord lost no opportunity of soliciting
the queen in his favour, and never let slip any occasion of
testifying for him the warmest and the sincerest afl^ection. At
length. It seems he was not altogether unsuccessful ; for
though, upon the death of secretary Walsingham, the
queen absolutely rejected his motion, that Mr. Davisoa
should come into his place, yet, afterwards, it seems that
she yielded in some degree, as plainly appears by the earl's
letter to king James. That we are under an incapacity of
tracing him farther, is owing to the profound silence of the
writers of those times.
Davison came not suddenly or surprisingly into his high
office, but easily, naturally, and gratlually, in the very-
same way that his predecessors, Cecil, Smith, and Wal-
singham had done, and with the general approbation of all
the council ; and, as he was no mean or obscure person
when called to that high employment, so he was not given
to subserviency, at the peril of his life and reputation ;
and notwithstanding the star chamber sentence, he very
well knew how to make his innocence plain, both to that
age and to posterity.
Mr. W'hitaker, in his elaborate work entitled " Mary
queen of Scots vindicated," has not forgotten Eli2abeth's
conduct with regard to Davison. In the first edition he
took proper notice of it, and gave a general account of toe
unfortunate secretary's apologv. But in the second edi-
tion he has inserted the apology at large, and accompg-nied
Z 2
340 DAVISON.
it with a number of notes that strongly display the unjust
and cruel manner in which Davison was treated by hi»
royal mistress. The pointed observations of Mr. Whita-
ker's concluding note afford such a correct view of his
character, as, although somewhat different from the pre-
ceding in the Biographia Britannica, is probably nearer
the truth.
" Let me here, at the end of the apology, remark
finally concerning Davison, that, though he was not an
honest man, yet he was so nearly one, as to be a very
prodigy for the ministry of Elizabeth. He refused, it ap-
pears, to sign that very bond of association which was
signed by all the nation, and which even the despairing
Mary offered, on her liberty being granted, to sigi> hex"-
self. Yet he refused, though Leicester pushed on the as-
sociation, and though Elizabeth urged him to sign it.
Among the pleas which he advances for himself in his other
apology, he particularly states ' his former absolute re-
fusal to sign the band of association, being earnestly
pressed thereunto by her majesty's self,' (Robertson, 11.
483). This indeed is a very strong evidence of a manly
virtuousness in him. But he did other things in the same
spirit of virtue. He declined to act as a commis-
sioner on the examination of Babington and his accomplices
for their conspiracy in favour of Mary, and took a journey
to Bath, in order to save himself from acting, (Robertson,
IL 483). He was a means, too, of preventing the com-
missioners who were sent to try Mary at Fotheringay castle,
from pronouncing sentence upon her immediately after
the trial, and of obliging them to return first to London,
and report their proceedings to Elizabeth, (Robertson, H.
483). We have already seen that he kept the warrant
for the execution of Mary five or six weeks in his hands,
without offering to present it to Elizabeth for her signing.
We have equally seen that he actually neglected to obey a
personal command of Elizabeth's for bringing the warrant
to her, and that he thus neglected for ' many days,' even
till the queen fired at his conduct, and sent him a peremp-
tory order to bring it. Even then, and even when Paulet's
answer had been received, and all delay was now at an end
for ever, he would not be concerned in sending away the
warrant himself, but returned it into the hands from which
he had received it, and left Cecil and the council to send
it. And, as in all the time ' before her trial, he neitlj^er
DAVISON. 341
is nor can be charged, to have had any hand at all in the
cause of the said queen, or done any thing whatsoever
concerning the same, directly or indirectly,' so, * after
the return thence of the commissioners, it is well known
to all her council, that he never was at any deliberation
or meeting whatsoever, in parliament or council, con-
cerning the cause of the said queen, till the sending down
of her majesty's warrant unto tlie conmiissioners by the
lords and oineis of her council,' (Robertson, II. 481).
" These deeds of honesty, no doubt, had successively
marked him out for veng'. ance to the rest of the ministry,
and to the queen. He was therefore selected by Cecil,
* with her majesty's own privity,' to be the secretary with
whom the warrant should be lodged for signing, (Robert*
son, II. 481). He was thus exposed to a train of decisive
trials. It would be seen whether he offered to present the
warrant to Elizabeth for her signature. Should he not
offer, a command might be given him by Elizabeth to
bring it up. Should he hesitate to obey this, a sharp re-
buke and a peremptory order might be sent him. If he
was refractory in all these points, then the wrath of Eliza-
beth would burst out upon him, and sweep him away from
her presence for ever. If he complied in any, his farther
compliance might be tried in ordering him to the great
seal with the warrant, and in directing him to use the war-
rant, when sealed, with secresy. Should he be found
pliable in this trial, the grand scheme of assassination, tho
favourite wish of Elizabeth's heart, which had repeatedly-
been talked over by her other ministers before Elizabeth
and him, which they all united to approve, though none
of them offered to undertake, and winch had been so talked
over and so approved of, merely to put Davison upon un-
dertaking it, might finally be urged upon Davison in pri^
vate by Elizabeth herself. Should he bend to this urgency,
and engage in the work of assassination, Elizabeth, as
soon as ever the work was done, would have risen upon
him with an affected })assiQn, and made his life the forfeit
of his compliance. And should he not bend, all his pre-
sent, and all his former refractoriness would be remem-
bered at once aijainst him, and unite to draw down the
rage of Elizabeth in a storm of real resentment upon him.
Either way the man was sure to be ruined. He complied,
though only in part. He brought up the warrant at tho
second order. He carried it to the great seal. He eveu
343 DAVISON,
united with Walsingham to mention Elizabeth's proposal
of assassination to Paulet ; but he would go no farther.
He actually protested to Elizabeth herself against the pro-
posal before he mentioned it to Paulet. He protested to
her against every scheme of assassination. And he was
therefore ruined at last by Elizabeth, in a most impudent
stretch of falsehood, for doing what he did not do, and
in truth and reality, for not doing what he was wanted
to do."
<* Thus fell Davison, a memorable evidence of the cun-
ning, the perfidiousness, and the barbarity of Elizabeth
and her Cecil ! But he was fully revenged of them both
in his fall. He wrote the present apology, which serves
so greatly to expose the characters of both. It is very
convincing in itself; is even drawn up with the air and
address of a fine writer, and is peculiarly valuable to the
critical investigators of Elizabeth's conduct. It differs
very psetully from that in Dr. Robertson's Appendix, in
being written within the very month of all the main trans-
actions recorded in it, and being therefore very full, cir-
cumstantial, and accurate ; while that was written many
years afterward, is only general and short, and is often in-^
accurc^te. It was not, however, as Camden says, a ' pri-
vate' apology sent to * Walsingham,' (Orig. i. 465.
Trans. 39-2). It was evidently calculated, as I have shown
before, for the inspection of Elizabeth herself. And, as
it would nfiturally be sent to his brother-secretary for her
inspection, so was it a bold challenge to her for the truth
and exactness of all his averments, and would serve only
to increase the load already descending to crush him. The
other was written, not only when the little particulars had
faded off from the mind, when memory had confounded
some circumstances that were distinct in themselves, and
9, regular narrative, if it could have been given, was no
Jonger of consequence ; but, what is very surprizing, when
Davison had lost all copy, and even all minutes of this
very apology. It w^s drawn up, too, when he was no
Jonger afraid of showing his forbearance in the cause of
Mary, and indeed had reason for displaying it all at large.
He therefore goes back much farther in the second apology
than in the first, to the return of Mary's judges from Fo-
theringay, to the moment of her trial, to the examination
of Babuigton, &c. and to the times preceding all. In this
whole period he shows ws his secret attachment \q Mary,
DAVISON. 343
by such a train of incidents as seems peculiarly calculated
for the eye of Mary's son on his accession to the throne of
England. Yet Elizabeth must have been alive at the
writing of it, since she is sjjoken of as still queen ; and I
therefore suppose it to be written at the latter end of Eli-
zabeth's reigii, when all tne nation began to turn their
eyes towards Scotland for a successor to her ; and when
Davison would naturally endeavour to make tliat attach-
ment to Mary, for which he had suffered so severely from
Elizabetb, promote his interest with James."
Francis, the secretary's son, pubhshed a poetical mis-
cellany in 1602, uudtr the title of a "Poetical Rapsodie,"
containing small pieces by the compiler himself, and by
some friends. A second edition of this appeared in 1608,
a third in 1611, and a fourth in 162 I. Mr. Ellis has ex-
tracted some of these pieces in his " Specimens," vol. III.*
DAUBEMTON (Louis John Maria), an eminent French
naturalist, was born at Montbar in the department of the
Cote D'Or, May 29, 1716. His father, John Daubenton,
was a notary in that place, and his mother's name was
Mary Pichenot. In his youth he distinguished himself by
the sweetness of his temper, and by a diligent application
to his studies. The Jesuits of Dijon, under whose tuition
he was first placed, noticed him in a peculiar manner.
Having gone through the philosophical course taught by
the Dominicans of Dijon, his father, who destined him for
the church, and who had made him assume the ecclesias-
tical dress at the age of twelve, sent him to Paris to study
theology, but his predilection for natural history induced
him privately to study medicine. Accordingly he attended
the lectures of Baron, Martiney, and Col de Vi liars, and
likewise those of VVinslow, Hunault, and Anthony Jussieu,
in the botanic garden. The death of his father, which
happened in 1736, leaving him at liberty to pursue the
bent of his own inclinations, he took his degrees at Rheims
in 1740 and 1741, after which he returned to his native
province, where, doubtless, his ambition would have been
for ever confined to the practice of medicine, had not a
happy accident brought him upon a more brilliant theatre.
Montbar had given birth, about the same time, to the
celebrated Buffon, a man of a very different character;
who, though possessed of an independent fortune, a
» Biog. Brit. &c.
344 DAUBENTON.
robust constitution, and actuated by a violent passion for
pleasure, had determined lo devote himself to the cultivation
of the sciences ; and of those, at length to give the pre-
ference to natural history, which he saw in its infancy and
rudf slate, and very justly conceived that every thing must
be collected, revised, and examined. Perceiving, how-
ever, that liis ardent and lively imagination rendered him
unequal to such laborious and difficult researches, and even
that the weakness of his sight excluded the hope of suc-
ceeding in them, he endeavoured to discover a mari, who,
besides a sound judgment, and a certain quickness of per-
ception, should possess sufficient modesty and devotedness
to induce him to rest satisfied with acting, in appearance,
a subordinate part, and to serve him, as it were, as a hand
and an eye in the prosecution of his undertaking. Such a
man he at last found in Daubenton, the companion of his
early years. The character, however, of these two philo-
sophers was almost opposite in every respect. Buffon was
violent, impatient, rash : Daubenton was all gentleness,
patience, and caution : Buffon wished to divine the truth
rather than to discover it: Daubenton believed nothing
which he had not himself seen and ascertained : Buffba
suffered his imagination to lead him from nature ; Dauben-
ton, on the contrary, discarded from his writings every
expression which was calculated to mislead. They were
thus happily fitted to correct each other's faults. Accord-
ingly, the History of Quadrupeds, which appeared while
they laboured together, is the most exempt from error of
any of the divisions which constitute Buffon's Natural
History,
About 1742 Buffon drew him to Paris. At that time,
the office of keeper and demonstrator of the cabinet of
natural history was in a great measure nominal, and as
Koguez, who possessed that title, had been long absent,
his place w^s occasionally supplied by any one present.
By the influence of Buffon, this office was revived, and
conferred on Daubenton in 1745. His salary, which at
first did not exceed 500 francs, was, by degrees, after-
wards augmented to 2000, or, as some say, 4000. While
he Wfis only an assistant in the academy of sciences, Buf-
fon, who dieted as its treasurer, conferred upon him several
favours. On his arrival at Paris he procured him a lodg-
ing, and neglected nothing in order to secure to him ease
^nd independence j while Daubenton pursued with inde-
DAUBENTON. 345
fetigablc industry those labours which were necessary to
second the views of his benelactor, and established by tliis
means the two principal monuments of his own glory.
One of these is the cabinet of natural history in the
botanical garJen. That before his time served merely as
a repository for the products of the diHferent pharmaceuti-
cal operations, performed during the public lectures on
chemistry, in order that they might be distributed to the
poor while suffering under disease. It contained nothing
appertaining to natural history, strictly so called, except a
collection of shells made by I'ournefort, which had after-
wards been employed to amuse Lewis XV. during his in-
fancy; but such was the industry of Daubenton, that,
within a few years, he collected specimens of minerals,
fruits, woods, shells, from every quarter, and methodically
arranged them. By applying himself to ascertain, or to
improve the operations necessary to preserve the different
parts of organized bodies, he succeeded in giving to the
inanimate forms of quadrnpeds and birds the appearance
of real life ; and presented to the naturalist the most mi-
nute circumstances of their characters, while at the same
time he no less gratified the virtuosi by exhibiting them in
their natural forms and colours.
Availing himself of the patronage of Buffon, and of his
influence with the government, Daubenton soon formed
and executed a very extensive plan : he conceived that all
the productions of nature should tind a place in the temple
he had consecrated to her; he was fully aware that those
objects which are regarded as the most important, could
only be thoroughly known by a comparison of them with
others ; and that there existed no one that had not a greater
or less affinity with the rest of nature. Impressed with this
view of the subject, he made the most unremitting efforts
to render his collection complete ; whilst at the same time
he bestowed the greatest attention on the formation of
those anatomical jireparations which for a long time distin-
guished the cabinet of Paris, and which, however disa-
greeable they may be to the common eye, are not the le.«;$
useful to those who wish to penetrate beyond the move
suri"ace of oro-anized beings, and who endeavour to render
natural history a philosophical science, by illustrating the
phenomena it exhibits.
The study and arrangement of these productions en-
grossed his whole attention, and seemed to constitute the
346 D A U B E N T O N.
only passion he ever experienced. Shut up for whole days
in the cabinet, he incessantly occupied himself in chano-iiio-
the disposition of the objects he had accumulated, till by a
scrupulous investigation of their several parts, and attempt-
ing every possible method, he fell upon that arrangement
which was equally consonant to true taste and accurate
science. This passion for arrangement was again revived
in full force during his latter years ; when, in consequence
of victories obtained by the republican arms, there was
brought to the museum a fresh store of natural curiosities,
and when circumstances permitted him to give to the whole
a more complete illustration. At eighty-four years of age,
when he stooped much, and both his hands and feet had
suffered greatly from the gout, not being able to walk
without assistance, he was conducted by two persons tvery
morning to the cat)inet, in order to superintend the ar-
rangement of the minerals, the only department allotted to
him according to ihe new organization of the establishment.
The second monument that Daubenton has left behind
him, and which must ever perpetuate his name, is his
Description of Quadrupeds. It must, however, afford a
subject of regret to every lover of science, that some cir-
cumstances prevented him from extending, as was his ori-
ginal intention, that description to all the productions con-
tained in the cabinet of natural history. It is not now our
business to analyze the descriptive part of the Natural His-
tory, a work as immense in its details as astonishing in the
boldness of the plan, nor to characterize the new and im-
portant improvements introduced by him into this depart-
ment of science. It may be sufficient, in order to convey
some idea of the immensity of that work, to observe, that
it comprehends not only the external characters, but the
internal description of one hundred and eightj-two species
of quadrupeds, of which fifty-eight had never been dis-
sected, and thirteen were absolutely non-descripts. It
contains, moreover, the external description of twenty-six
species, five of which were wholly unknown. The number
of new species there described by him is eighteen ; but the
pew and interesting facts which he has brought forward
respecting those species of which we had only before a very
superficial knowledge, are extremely numerous. The
greatest merit of the work, however, consists in the order
snd disposition with which all the species are described. It
delighted the author to repeat, that he was the first who had
D A U B E N T O N. 347
established an accurate system of comparative anatomy ; the
truth of which must certainly be aclinitted, in this sense, that
as all his observations were conducted upon one uniform
plan, and equally extended to every animal, it is extremely
easy to comprehend their reciprocal relations ; that, as he
was never biassed by any preconceived liypotiiesis, he has
bestowed an equal attention upon every part, and in no
instance ever oiriitted or concealed what could not be re-
conciled to his own system. Tins work of Daubenton may
be considered as a rich mine, which all who devote them-
selves to similar pursuits, find it necessary to explore, and
of which many have profited without due acknowledgment.
Nothing more is frequently necessary than to exhibit a ge-
neral view of his observations, and to place them under
different heads, in order to obtain results highly interest-
ing : it is in this sense that we must understand the ex-
pression of the celebrated Camper, " that Daubenton was
unconscious of all the discoveries of which he was the
author."
This work procured for Daubenton a very high reputa-
tion, and drew upon him the envy of Reaumur, who at
that time considered himself as at the hetid of natural
history. But the credit and reputation of Buffon was suf-
ficient to prevent his friend from falling a victim to the
• attack of this formidable antagonist.
It gives us a very unfavourable idea of Buffon that after
this he should himself commence the enemy of Daubenton.
He was, however, weak enough to listen to some parasites,
who persuaded him that it would redound greatly to his
honour to dismiss his associate ; and, accordingly, Buifon
actually published a new edition of his Natural History, in
13 volumes, 12mo, in which are omitted not only the ana-
tomy, but even the external characters, of the animals
which Daubenton had furnished for the large edition; and
as nothing was substituted in their stead, the work exhi-
bits no idea of the form, colour, or distinctive attributes
of the animals ; so that this small edition cannot supply
any data whereby to ascertain the animals to which the
author alludes, especially as they are not to be found either
in Pliny, or Aristotle, wlio likewise, as is well known,
neglected the descriptive details.
BulTon moreover determined not to avail himself of his
aid in the works he had projected on ornithology and mi-
neralogy. Independently of this insult, Daubenton sus-
343 D A U B E N T O N.
tained a loss of 12,000 francs yearly. He might indeed
have complained, hut it would necessarily have emhroiled
' him with the intendant of the king's garden, and forced
him lo resign the supenntendance of the cabinet he had
formed, and to which lie was as much attached as to life;
overlooking, therelore, this injnrious treatment, he con-
tinued to pursuf' his former occupations. The , regret
which all naturalists testified when the first part of his Or-
nithology made its appearance without being accompanied
by those accurate descriptions and anatomical details which
they estimated so highly, served, however, to console him.
He would still have felt more chagrin if his attachment for
the great man who uegLcted him had not yielded to his
self-love when he beheld the first volumes, to which Gue-
neau de Montheliard did not contribute, filled with inac-
curacies, and destitute of all those particulars which it was
impossible for Butfon to supply. All this was still more
manifest in the supplements — the productions of Buffon
in his old age ; and in which he carried his injustice so far
as to employ a common draughtsman, for the part which
Daubeiuon had so well executed in the former volumes.
Hence many naturalists have endeavoured to supply this
void ; and, among others, the celebrated Pallas took Dau-
benton for a model in his Miscellanies and Zoological
Gleanings, as well as in his History of Rodentia; works
which must be considered as real supplements to Buftbn ;
and, next to his large work, the best on quadrupeds. It
is well known how successfully La Cepede, the illustrious
continualor of Buff(,n, and who w^as also the friend and
colleague of Daubenton, whose loss he equally bewails with
ourselves, has united in his works on ichthyology and rep-
tiles a rich and brilliant style with the mo.st scrupulous ac-
curacy of descr'ption ; and how well he has supplied the
province of his two predecessors. Daubenton so far for-
got the injurious treatment he had received from Buffon,
that he afterwards contributed to several parts of the natu-
ral history, although his name does not appear; and there
exist proofs that when Buffon composed his History of
Minerals, he derived much assistance from the mauuscript
of his lecturts delivered in the French college. Their in-
timacy, notwiihstaiiding the interruption from the circum-
stance before mentioned, was even fully re-established,
a|)d continued to be maintained to the death of Buffon.
It was not in the power of Daubenton to furnish many
D A U B E N T O N. 349
memoirs to the academy of sciences during the eiofhtecri
years in which the fifteen volumes in quarto of the " His-
tory of Quadrupeds" successively appeared ; l)ut he aiter-
wards fully compensated for tliis, by suppiyinj^ not only
the academy, but also the medical and agricultural societies,
and the national institute, with a great number of papers,
all of which contain, as well as the works he published
separately, many interesting facts and original observa-
tions. His experiments on agriculture and rural crconomy
were, however, of more service to him aftervvartls than all
the rest of liis labours, on account of the reputation among
the populace which they had procured him. h) 1784 he
published " Instructions for Shepherds and Proprietors of
Flocks," and was the means of introducing an improved
breed of sheep into France. His experiments on this sub-
ject were begun about 1766, and the object of his constant
pursuits, in which he was encouraged by successive ad-
ministrations, and in which he eminently succeeded, was
to demonstrate the bad effects of confining sheep in stables
during the night, and the utility of allowing them to range
at large; to atten)pt different means of improving their
breed; to point out how to determine the different qua-
lities of the wool ; to discover the mechanism of rumination,
and thence to deduce some useful conclusions respecting
the temperament of wool -bearing animals, as well as with
regard to the mode of rearing and feeding them ; to dis-
seminate the produce of his sheep-fold throughout every
province; to distribute his rams to all the proprietors of
flocks ; to manufacture woollen-cloth from his own raw
material, with tlie view of convincing the most prejudiced
of its superiority ; to form intelligent shepherds in order
that they might propagate his method, and to render his
instructions intelligible to all classes' of as^riculturists.
By these labours he had acquired a kind of popularity
which proved very useful to liim in a dangerous crisis.
During the second year of the revolution, when it was left
for an ia:norant multitude to decide on the fate of the most
intelligent and virtuous of men, the venerable octogenarian
Daubenton found it necessary, in order to preserve the
situation which he had filled with so much crtridit to himself
during a period of fifty years, to solicit from the section of
Sans Culottes a certificate of his civism. It was then scarcely
possible for a professor, or an academician, to obtain one;
but some sensible persons who intermingled with the po-
350 D A U B E N T O N.
pulace in the hope of moderating their fury, presented him
under the appellation of the Shepherd ; and it was thus the
shepherd Daubenton procureU the necessary certificate*
as director of the museum of natural history. This paper
is still preserved, and may serve as a curious proof of the
degraded state of France at that period.
Besides his puhlications, Daubenton was of great ser-
vice to science as a lecturer. From 1775 he gave lectures
on natural history in the college of medicine. In 1783 he
lectured on rural ceconomy. He was appointed professor
of mineralog}' by the Convention at the garden of plants,
and he gave lectures during the short existence of what
was called the Normal school. He was likewise one of
the editors of the ** Journal des Savans," and contributed
to both the Encyclopcedias. As a lecturer he was ex-
tremely popular, and retained his popularity to the last.
Notwithstanding the feebleness of his constitution, he
arrived at a very advanced age without much disease, or
loss of his faculties. This may be in some measure as-
cribed to the gentleness of his temper, and his remarkable
resignation. He varied his studies also by frequently
reading amusing books of the lighter kind. In 1799, he
was named a member of the Conservative Senate, and
was anxious to fulfil his new duties as he had formerly ful-
fiilled all those with which he was charged ; he was forced
to make some change in his usual dress, and the weather
beino- extremely rigorous, the first time he assisted at the
sitting of that body, of which he had become a mem-
ber, he was struck with an apoplexy, and fell senseless
into the arms of his colleagues : the most prompt means
were employed to afford him relief, but he only recovered
his recollection for a short period, during which he evinced
the same character as that he had uniformly displayed
throu'rhout life. With the utmost calmness, observing the
• Copy of the certificate of Dau- self as a worthy ami good citizen, the
benton's civism. General Assembly unanimously decree.
Section of Sans Culottes. that he shall rtceive a certificate of
Copy ot the extract of the delibera- civism, and that the president, at-
tionsoftheGeneral Assembly convened tended by several nieuibers of the
on the 5th of the 1st decade, in the aforesaid assembly, shall give him the
third moiuh of the seci)n«l ytar of the fraternal embrace, with every mark of
French Republic, one an<l mdivisible. honour due to tbat virtuous and hu-
" As it appears from the report made mane conduct which he has displayed
by the fraternal society of the section on various occasions.
of Sans Culottes, thai the shepherd (Signed) " R. G. Dardel, president."
Daubemoa has always conducted him- A true copy. (Signed) "JJuMOHT.sec."
D A U B E N T O N. 351
progress of his disease, he pointed out to his friends the
different parts of his body which were siill sensible, and
unaffected by paralysis. He expired without a struggle on
January 1, 1800, and was interred with the funeral honours
due to the high character he supported among his coun-
try nieu.'
DAUBENTON (William), a French Jesuit, of some
fame, was born at Auxerre October 21, 1648, and after
performing his novitiate, became a member of the society
of Jesuits at Nancy in 1683. After preaching with much
success for some time, his health obliged him to desist,
and he was chosen companion or assistant of the provincial.
He was afterwards elected rector of the college of Stras-
burgh, and promoted to be provincial of Champagne.
He would have been advanced to another ecclesiastical (jo-
vernment, had not Louis XIV. requested that he might
continue in the college of Strasburgh, more effectually to
establish some regulations which he had begun when first
appointed rector. In 1700 the king appointed him con-
fessor to Philip V. of Spain, and he remained in high fa-
vour with that prince until the courtiers, grown jealous of
iiis power, prevailed upon the king to send hini from the
court in 1706. He was, however, recalled again in 1716^
and being reinstated in his office, gained a still greater
ascendancy over the mind of Philip V. This prince, when
disgusted with his throne, and wishing to abdicate it, con-
fided his design to Daubenton, who is said to have betrayed
the secret to the duke of Orleans, which conduct ter-
minated in his disgrace a second time, but the manner of
ft is variously represented by historians. He died, how-
ever, in 1723- His character is doubtful, some maintain-
ing that he was a man of intrigue, and others that he made
no improper use of his talents or influence. His works
consist chiefly of funeral orations, and a life of St. Francis
Regis, Paris, 1716, 4to, which t\'as translated and pub-
lished in English, Lond. 1738, 8vo, a work full of absurd
miracles. He published likewise a more enlarged account
of the merits of this saint, entitled " Scripta varia in causa
beatificationis et canoni^ationis J, F. Regis," Rome,
1710 and 1712, 2 vols. foho. ^
DAUBUZ (Charles), a learned French protestant di-
vine, was born about 1670, and came to England on the
* Life by Cuyier ia the Memoirs of the Institute. « Moreri, — -Diet. Hist.
352 D A U B U Z.
revocation of the edict of Nantz. Of his history we hav6
only a short memorandum in MS. by Mr. Whiston, who
supposes that he died in 1740. He wrote " Pro Testi-
nonio Josephi de JesU Christo, contra Tan. Fabrum et
alios," Lond. 1700, 8vo ; and a *' Commentary on the Re-
velation of St. John," 17 12, folio. This was, in 1730,
published by Peter Lancaster, vicar of Bowden in Cheshire,
under the title of " A Perpetual Commentary, &c. newly
modelled, abridged, and rendered plain to the meanest
capacities." Mr. Daubuz is here said to have been vicar
of Brotherton in Cheshire. Mr. Whiston adds that he had
a son, a clergyman, also beneficed in Yorkshire, near Fer-
rybridge, a studious man, who lived in obscurity, and died
a bachelor about 1752.*
DAUMIUS (Christian), an eminent classical and phi-
lological scholar, was born March 29, 1612, at Zwickau,
became regent of the college in that place 1642, and
rector of the same 1662, which office he discharged with
great credit till his death, December 16, 1687. He was
one of the most learned men of his age ; he understood
Latin, Greek, Hebrew, the Turkish, French, Italian, Spa-
nish, and Bohemian languages, and had a complete know-
ledge of Arabic. Besides editions of several works, which
aftbrd a testimony of his industry and superior talents, he
left "Letters," Jena, 1670, 4to ; Dresden, 1697, 8vo;
Chemnits, 1709, 8vo, all different : some poems and dis-
sertations, as, " Traciatus de causis amissarum Linguae
Latinae radicum," 1642, Svo ; and in the *' Systema Dis-
sert, rar." of Gracvius, Utrecht, 1701, 4to. "
DAUN (Leopold Count), a celebrated Austrian gene-
ral, prince of Tiano, knight of the golden fleece, and of
the order of Maria Theresa, field marshal, minister of state,
and president of the Aulic council of war, was born in 1 705,
of an ancient and illustrious family. He was colonel of a
regiment of infantry in 1740, and distinguished himself in
the war which Maria Theresa carried on for the preserva-
tion of the dominions which were left her by Charles VL
The succeeding war procured him a still more brilliant
fame. Piince Charles of Lorraine being besieged in
Prague, Daun, at the head of an army collected in haste,
took the resolution to force the enemy to raise the siege,
* MS. Whiston, in his copy of the fust edition of this Dictionary.
2 -Moreri. — Niccion, Vol. XXX.
D A U N. 353
gave battle to the king of Prussia at Chotchemitch, the
18th of June, 1757, and gained a complete victory. It
was on this occasion that the empress- queen instituted the
military order that bears her name. The battle of Hoch-
kirchen, in 1758, added fresh laurels to those of the de-
liverer of Prague. In 1758, by a series of judicious move-
ments he delivered Olmutz, and attacked the Prussians iu
1759 at Pirna, took the whole army commanded by gene-
ral Finck, and made them prisoners of war. He had not
the same success at Siplitz near Torgau, in 1760, where
the enemy, after the marshal had been obliged to retire
from the field on account of a dangerous wound, gained
the superiority. This was followed by the peace of Hu-
bertsbourg in 1763. He died at Vienna, the 5th of Feb-
ruary 1766, with the reputation of an experienced, brave,
circumspect general, humane and compassionate, uniting
the virtues of the Christian with those of tlie soldier. Oc-
casions where prudence was more necessary than activity,
were particularly favourable to him. His perceptions were
quick and sure ; but, when the urgency of the moment
excluded maturity of reflection, he found it difficult to
take a vigorous determination. Accordingly his victories
were often without effect, and the vanquished, by bold
and rapid manoeuvres, sometimes were enabled almost in-
stantly to repair their defeat.'
DAUNOIS (Countess). See AUNOY.
DAURAT, or DORAT, in Latin Auratus (John), an
eminent French poet, was born near the head of the
"Vienne, in the Limousin, about 1507. Removing to the
capital of the kingdom to finish his studies, he distinguished
himself in such a manner by his skill in Greek, and his
talent at poetry, that he became one of the professors of
the university of Paris. In 1560 he succeeded John Stra-
cellus in the post of king's reader and professor of Greek ;
but before this he had been principal of the college of
Coqueret, and tutor to John Antony de Baif, in the house
of his father Lazarus de Baif, who was master of the re-
quests. He continued to instruct this young pupil in the
college of Coqueret ; and he had also the famous Ronsard
for his scholar there, during the space of seven years. His
highest praise is, that his school produced a great number of
able men ; but impruden . generosity and want of manage-
ment reduced him to poverty, and procured him a place in
» Diet. Hist,
Vol. XI. A A
354 D A U R A T.
the list of those learned men, whose talents have been of
little benefit to themselves. In the reign of Henry II. be had
been preceptor to the kind's pages ; and Charles IX. ho-
noured him with the title of his poet, took great delight in
conversing with him, and endeavoured to support him in his
old age. It will not now be thought much in his favour that
Daurat had an uncommon partiality for anagrams, of which
he was the first restorer. It is pretended, that he found the
model of them in Lycophron, and brought them so much into
vogue, that several illustrious persons gave him their names
to anagrammatise. He undertook also to explain the cen-
turies of Nostradamus, and with such imposing plausibility
as to be considered in the light of his interpreter or sub-
prophet. When he was near 80, having lost his first wife,
he married a young girl ; and by her had a son, for whom
he shewed his fondness by a thousand ridiculous actions.
In excuse for this marriage, he said that he would rather
die by a bright sword than a rusty one. He had by his
first wife, among other children, a son, who was the author
of some French verses, printed in a collection of his owa
poems ; and a daugliter, whom he married to a learned
man, named Nicolas Goulu, in whose favour he resigned
his place of regius professor of Greek. He wrote a great
many verses in Latin, Greek, and French, in some of which
he attacked the protestants ; and no book was printed, nor
did any person of consequence die, without his producing
some verses on the subject ; as if he had been poet in
ordinary to the kingdom, or his muse had been a general
mourner. The odes, epigrams, hymns, and other poems
in Greek and Latin, composed by Daurat, have been esti-
mated at the gross sum of 50,000 verses ; Scaliger had
such an opinion of him as a critic, that he said he knew
none but him and Cujacius, who had abilities sufficient to
restore ancient authors ; but he has presented the public
with no specimen of that talent, except some remarks on
the Sybilline verses in Opsopeeus's edition. Scaliger telb
lis, with some ridicule, however, tliat he spent the latter
part of his life in endeavouring to find all the Bible in
Homer. He died at Paris, Nov. 1, 1588, aged 8L. His
principal collection of verses is entitled ** Joannis Aurati,
Lemovicis, Poetje et interpretis regii, Poematia, hoc est,
Poematum libri quinque; Epigrammatum libri tres ; Ana-
grammatum liber unus ; Funerum liber unus; Odarum libri
duoj Kpithalamiorum liber unus; Eclogarum libri duo;
D A U R A T. 355
Vat'iarum ferum liber Unus," Paris, 1586, 8vo, a ver}' sin-
gular collection, although of no great merit as to taste or
versification. He deserves more praise as one of the re-
vivers of Greek literature in France, and in that character
his memory was honoured, in 1775, by an eloge, written
by the abbe Vitrac, professor of humanity at Limoges.'
DAU8QUK, or DAUSQUEIUS (Claudius), a learned
Jesuit, was born at St. Omer's in 1366, and became canon
of Tournay, where he died Jan. 17, 1644. He was an ex-
cellent Greek and Latin scholar, and a good critic, but
wrote in an affected and obscure style. Some of his works
are still valued, although their rarity prevents their being
generally known. Among these are, 1. " Antiqui novi-
que Latii Orthographica," Tournay, 1632, fol. Of this
there is a pretended Paris edition of 1677, which is pre-
cisely the same, with a new title-page and date. 2. *' Terra
et aqua, sen terras Huctuantes," Tournay, 1633, 4to ; of
this there are also copies of Paris, 1677, with only a new
title. The small floating isles near St. Omer's furnished
the idea of this work, in which there are many .curious ob-
servations on marine productions. He also translated into
Latin, the " Orations of St. Basil of Seleucia," with notes,
1604, 8vo; and published an edition of Quintus Calaber,
1614, 8vo, and some other works, theological and critical,
which are enumerated in our authorities.*
DAWES (Lancelot), a learned English divine, was
born in 1580, at Barton-Kirk in Westmoreland, and be-
came a student in Queen's college, Oxford, in 1597, and
when B. A. was made tabarder, and in 1605, master of
arts and fellow. At college he was of a retired studious
disposition, and accounted an ornament to the society.
Havins taken orders, he was beneficed at Barton-kirk, and
afterwards presented to a prebend of Carlisle. About the
same time he received the degree of D. D. from the uni-
versity of St. Andrew's, and was promoted to the rectory of
Ashby in Westmoreland. He was much esteemed for
learning, and talents in preaching, of which he published
a specimen in *' Sermons preached upon several occa-
sions," London, 1653. He died in the month of February
in the same year, and was buried in the chancel of Barton-
kirk. His character was honoured by verses in Greek,
* Moreri in Dorat. — Niceron, vol. XXVL — Gen. Diet. — Baillet Jug:emens.
* Fopoen, Bibl. Belg. — Moreri. — Gen. Diet. — Baiikt J ugemens.— Clement
Bibl. Curieuiie.-i^SaxJi Onomast,
A .'V 2
356 D A W E Si»
Latin, and English, by Tully, Williamson, and Ellis, three
scholars of Queen's."
DAWES (Richard), a learned critic, especially in the
Greek tongue, was born in 1708. A respectable family of
the name of Dawes had long been situatt-d at Stapieton,
between Market-Bosworth and Hinckley in Leicestershire,
and our critic was probably of the same family, but it does
not appear, from the register of the parish, that he was
born at that place. There was a Dr. Dawes, who, early
in the last century, resided at Stapieton, and was a great
scholar, and a searcher after the philosopher's stone. It
has been supposed, that he might be father to the subject
of the present article ; but of this fact no decisive evidence
can be produced. All the traditions concerning Richard
Dawes are, that the place of his birth was either Market-
Bosworth, or the vicinity of that town. Whoever his
parents were, or whatever was their condition in life, it is
probable that they perceived such marks of capacity in
their son, as determined them to devote him to a literary
profession ; and accordingly he was put to the free gram-
mar-school at Bosworth, where he had the happiness of
receiving part of his education under the care of Mr. An-
thony Blackwall. Here he laid the foundation of that cri-
tical knowledge of the Greek language which he afterwards
displayed so conspicuously. In 1725, he was admitted a
sizar of Emanuel college, in the university of Cambridge,
where he proceeded bachelor of arts in 1729. On the 2d
of October, 1731, he became a fellow of the college on
the nomination of sir Wolston Dixie, bart. In 1733, he
took the degree of master of arts. The next year he was
a candidate for the place of esquire beadle of the univer-
sity, but his application was not crowned with success.
Whilst Mr. Dawes was at Cambridge, he distinguished
himself by some peculiarities of conduct, which probably
arose from a mixture of insanity in his constitution ; and in
his conversation he occasionally took such liberties on cer-
tain topics as gave great offence to those about him. Hav-
ing indulged himself too much, at college, in an indolent
sedentary way of life, he, at length, found it absolutely
necessary to have recourse to some kind of exercise. In
this case, being of a strong athletic frame of body, and
not over-delicate in the choice of his company, he took to
the practice of ringing ; and, as such a ggnius could not
» Ath. Ox. vol. II.
DAWES. 357
stop at mediocrity, he quickly became the leader of the
band, and carried the art to the higliest perfection.
Another circumstance, thougli of a very diflcrent nature,
by which Mr. Dawes rendered liiniself remarkable, was his
taking a violent part against Dr. BcMitley, and even endea-?
vouring to depreciate that great man's literature. In his
*' Miscellanea Criiica," on several occasions, he detracts
from Dr. Bentley's praises; and did not scruple to assert,
that the doctor, '* nihd in Grcecis cognovisse, nisi ex in-,
dicibus petitum," knew nothing relative to Grecian litera-
ture, but what he had drawn from indexes; an assertion
which could only proceed from extreme vanity, or per-
sonal dislike, or a bigoted attachment to a party. Indeed,
the contempt with which writers of distinguished abilities
sometimes speak of each other, is a disgrace to the repub-
lic of letters ; and it is much to be lamented that a spirit
so contrary to the dictates of justice and urbanity, should
still continue to prevail among men who otherwise deserve
to be held in esteem.
In 1736, Mr. Dawes published Proposals for printing
by subscription, " Paradisi amissi, a cl. Miltono conscripti.
Liber primus, Graeca versione donatus, una cum Aunota-
tionibus." These proposals were accompanied with a spe-
cimen, which may be seen in the preface to the Miscel-
lanea Critica, where our author explains his reasons for
not proceeding in his undertaking, and very ingenuously
points out the errors of his own performance. It was cus-
tomary with him, in conversation, humourously to expose
his version to ridicule ; and, tlierefore, though he had
actually completed his design, by translating the whole
first book of the Paradise Lost, it is no wonder that he did.
not commit it to the press.
On the 10th of July, 1738, Mr. Dawes was appointed
master of the free grammar-school in Newcastle-upon-
Tyne, in the room of Mr. Edmund Lodge, who had re-
signed that office. The commencement of liis duty was to
take place at the Michaelmas following. In tiie same year,
on the 9th of October, he was preferred, by act of com-
mon council, to the mastership of the hospital of the
blessed Virgin Mary in Newcastle. The business of Mr.
Dawes's new station did not prevent hun from prosecuting
his inquiries into the nature, peculiarities, and eleg mcies
of the Greek tongue ; and accordingly, in 1745, he pub-
lished his ** Miscellanea Critica" Mr. Hubbard, of Ema-
nuel college, Cambridge, and Dr. Mason, of Trinity,
35S DAWES.
assisted in the publication. It was Mr. Dawes's design in
this work, to aftord such a specimen of his critical abilities,
as should enable the learned world to judge what might be
expected from iiim, in an edition which he had projected
of all the Attic poets, as well as of Homer and Pindar.
Though his scheme was never carried into execution, he
has obtained, by his " Miscellanea Critica," a very high
place among those who have contributed to the promotion
of Greek learning in England, and, as such, his name will
be transmitted with honour to posterity. Accordingly, the
book has been spoken of in terms of distinguished applause,
by some of the first literary characters in Europe, particu-
larly Valkener, Pierson, Koen, and Reiske. A second
edition of it, in octavo, was given in 1781, from the Cla-
rendon press, by the rev. Mr. Burgess, of Corpus Christi
college, Oxford, now bishop of St. David's, who has en-
riched the work with a learned preface, and a nuniber of
notes of great value and importance, and some assistance
from Dawes's MSS. procured by Dr. Farmer and Mr. Salter.
Mr. Dawes's situation at Newcastle was neither so happy
nor so useful as might have been expected ; in a great
measure owing to the eccentricity of his disposition, and,
indeed, to his imagination being in some respects dis-
turbed. Hence he fancied that all his friends had slighted
him, or used him ill ; and of the jealousy of his temper he
has left a remarkable instance, on a very trifling occasion.
His printer, by an unfortunate mistake, in a passage of
Terentianus Maurus, which Mr. Dawes had quoted in order
to correct, had inserted a comma that destroyed the merit
of the emendation. In consequence of this involuntary
error, our author, in the Addenda to his Miscellanea, has
expressed himself with great indignation. He declares,
that he could not conjecture what fault he had committed
against the printer, that he should envy him the honour,
whatever it was, that was due to his correction; and he
adds, that he knows not how it happened, that, for seve-
ral years past, he had been ill used by those from whom
he had deserved better treatment. With the corporation
of Newcastle he became involved in altercations, and
adopted a singular method of displaying his resentment, or
rather his contempt; for in teaching the boys at school, he
made them translate the Greek word for ass into alderman ;
which some of the lads did seriously, though otherwise
M-eli instructed. With such a disposition of mind, it is not
surprising tiiat his scholars were, at length, reduced to a,
D A W E S. 35D
very small number ; so that it became expedient for him
to consent to quit his station. Accordingly, at Midsum-
mer, 1749, he resigned the mastership of the grannnar-
scliool, and the mastership of St. Mary's iiospital ; and, in
consideration of these sacrifices, the mayor and burgesses
of Newcastle, on the 2otli of September following, exe-
cuted a bond, by which tlioy engaged to grant him an
annuity of eighty pounds a-year, during life.
Mr, Dawes, after his resignation of the above two offices,
retired to Heworth-shore, about three miles below New-
castle, on the south side of the Tyne, wliere his favourite
amusement was the exercise of rowing in a boat. In his
conversation, he preserved, to the last, his splenetic hu-
mour ; abusing every thing, and every person that he had
formerly regarded. He departed this life, at Heworth,
on the 21st of March, 17 66, and, agreeably to his own
desire, was buried in the church-yard of that place ; where
a common head-stone, little suited to the just reputation
of so eminent a scholar, continues to mark his grave with
the words, " In memory of Richard Dawes, late head-
master of the grammcr (sic) school at Newcastle ; who died,
the 21st of March, 1766. Aged 57 years.'"
DAWES (Sir Willlvm), archbishop of York, the
youngest son of sir John Dawes, baronet, by Jane his wife,
the daughter and only child of Richard Hawkins, of Brain-
tree, in the county of Essex, gent, was born Sept. 1 2,
1671, at Lyons, (a seat which came by his mother) near
Braintree, and received the first rudiments of learning at
iVIerchant-taylors'-school in London, from Mr. John Hart-
clirt'e, and Mr. Ambr. Bonwicke, successively masters of
that school ; under whose care he made great proficiency
in the knowledge of the classics, and was a tolerable
master of the Hebrew ton«>ue, even before he was fifteen
years of age ; which was chiefly owing to the additional
care that Dr. Kidder, afterwards bishop of Bath and Wells,
took of his education. In act term 1687, he became a
scholar of St. John's college in Oxford, and after his con-
tinuance there two years or upwards, was made fellow.
But his father's title and estate descending to him, upon
the death of his two brothers, which happened about the
same time, he left Oxford, and entering hiuiself a noble-
man in Catherine-hall, Cambridge, lived in his eldest bro-
ther's chambers; and, as soon as he was of fit standing,
took the degree of master of arts. His intention, fioai tlie
1 Biog, Brit,
360 DAWES.
very first, was to enter into holy orders ; and tlierefore to
qualify himself for that purpose, among other introductory
works, he seems to have made some of onr late eminent
divines a considerahle branch of his study, even before he
was eighteen years of age : and he shewed always a serious
and devout temper of mind, and a true sense and love of
piety and reli<j;:ion. After he had taken his master of arts'
degree, not beinj^ of age to enter into holy orders, he
thought it proper to visit the estate he was now become
owner of, and to make a short tour into some other parts
of the kingdom, which he had not yet seen. But his in-
tended progress was, in some measure, stopped by his
happening to meet with Frances, the eldest daughter of
sir Thomas Darcy, of Braxstead-lodge, in Essex, baronet,
a fine and accomplished woman, to whoui he paid his ad-
dresses, and, not long after, married. As soon as lie
came to a competent age, lie was ordained deacon and
priest by Dr. Compton, bishop of London. Shortly after,
he was created doctor in divinity, by a royal mandate, in
order to be qualified for the mastership of Catherine-hall ;
to which he was unanimously elected, in 1696, upon the
death of Dr. John Echard. At his coming thither he found
the bare case of a new chapel, begun by his predecessor;
to the completion of which he contributed very liberally,
and, among other beneficial acts to his college, he ob-
tained, through his interest with queen Anne, and her
chief ministers, an act of parliament for annexing the first
prebend of Norwich which should become vacant, to the
mastershi}) of Catherine-hall for ever. Not long after his
election, he became vice-chancellor of Cambridge, and
discharged that dignity with universal applause. In 1696,
he was made one of the chaplains in ordinary to king Wil-
liam ; and, shortly after, was presented by his majesty
without interest or solicitation, and merely, as the king said,
by way of pledge of his future favour, to a prebend of
Worcester, in which he was installed August 26, 1698.
On the 1 0th of November 1698, he was collated by arch-
bishop Tenison to the rector}', and, the li)th of Decem-
ber following, to tiie deanery, of Bocking in Essex, aiwl
behaved in that parish in a very charitable and exemplary
manner. AI'Lcr queen Anne's accession to the throne, he
was made one of her majesty's chaplains, and became so
great a favotirite with her, that he had a reasonable expec-
tation of being advanced to some of the highest dignities
DAWES. 364
in the church. Accordingly, though he happened acci-
dentally to miss of the bishopric of Lincoln *, which be-
came vacant in 1705 ; yet her majesty, of her own accord,
named him to tlie see of Chester, in 1707, upon the death '
of Dr. Nicholas Stratford : and he was consecrated Febru-
ary 8, 1707-8. In 1713-4, he was, by the recommenda-
tion of his worthy predecessor Dr. John Sharp, translated
to the archiepiscopal see of York, being elected thereto
February 26, and enthroned by proxy the 24th of iMarch fol-
lowing. He continued above ten years in this eminent sta-
tion, honoured and respected by all. At length a diarrhoea,
to which he had been subject several times before, ending
in an inHammation of his bowels, put a period to his life
April 30, 1724, in the fifty-third year of his age. He was
buried in the chapel of Catherine-hall, Cambridge, near
his lady, who died December 22, 1705, in the twenty-ninth
year of her age. By her he had seven children, William,
BVancis, William, Thomas, who all died young ; and Eli-
zabeth, Jane, and Darcy, who survived him. In person
he was tall, proportionable, and bear.tiful. There was in
his look and gesture something easier to be conceived than
described, that gained every one's favour, even before he
spoke. His behaviour was easy and courteous to all ; his
civility free from formality ; his conversation lively and
cheerful, but without any tincture of levity. He had a
genius well fitted for a scholar, a lively imagination, a
strong memory, and a sound judgment. He was a kind
and loving husband, a tender and indulgent parent, and
so extraordinary good a master, that he never was observed
to be in a passion ; and took care of the spiritual as well as
the temporal welfare of his domestics. In his episcopal
capacity, he visited his large diocese with great diligence
and constancy, Nottinghamshire one year, and Yorkshire
another; but every third year he did not hold any visita-
tion. He performed all the offices of his function with be-
coming seriousness and gravity. He look great care and
* The reason of his missing: of it, was inclination) to give it to Dr. W. Wake,
this: being appointed to preach before afterwards archbi-liop of Canterbury,
queen Anne on the 30>h of January, This, however, made no impression
(whilst that bisliopr'c was vacant by upon sir William: and, therefore, when
the death of Dr. James Gardiner) sir he was told by a certain nobleman, that
William was not afraid to utter some he lost a bishopric by his preaching, his
bold truths, which at that time were reply was, " That, as to that he had
not so well relished by certain persons no maimer of concern upon him, be-
JD power, who took occasion from thence cau>e his intention was never to gain
to persuade the queen (contrary to her one by preaching."
362 DAWES.
caution, to admit none but sufficient labourers into tlie
Lord's liarvest ; and when ada)itted, to appoint them sti-
pends adequate to their labour. He administered justice
to all with an equal and impartial hand ; being no respec-
ter of persons, and making no difference between the poor
and rich, but espoushig all into the intimacy of his bosom,
his care, his aifability, his provision, and his prayers.
So strict an observer was he of his word, that no con-
sideration whatever could make him break it ; and so in-
violable in his friendship, that without the discovery of
some essential fault indeed, he never departed from it.
A great point of conscience it was with bin), that his
promises should not create fruitless expectances ; but
when, upon ])roper- considerations, he was induced to do
it, he always thought himself bound to employ his utmost
interest to have the thing effected ; and till a convenient
opportunity sliould present itself, was not unmindful to
support the petitioner (if in mean circumstances) at his
own expence : for charity indeed was his predominant
quality. — Both as a bishop and jieer of the reahn, he con-
sidered himself as responsible for the souls committed to
his charge in one respect, and as intrusted with the lives
and fortunes of his fellow subjects, in the other. If in
some parliamentary debates (in whicii he made a very con-
siderable ligure), he happened to dissent from other great
men, who might have the same common good in view, but
seemed to pursue it in a method incongruous^to his senti-
ments, tliis ought to be accounted his honour, and a proof
of his integrity, but cannot, with any colour of justice, be
deemed party prejudice, or a spirit of contradiction in
him ; because those very men, whom he sometimes op-
posed, at other times he joined himself to, whenever he
perceived them in the right. He associated himself with
no party, it being his opinion, that whoever enters the
senate house, should always carry his conscience along
with him; that the honour of God, the renown of his
prince, and the good of his fellow subjects, should be, as
it were, the jjolar^star to guide him ; that no multitude,
though never so numerous; no faction, though never so
powerful ; no arguments, though never so specious ; no
threats, though never so frightful ; no offers, though never
so advantageous and alluring ; should blind his eyes, or
pervert him to give any the least vote, not directly answer-
able to the sentiments of his own breast.
I) A W E S. 363
After his death appeared " The whole Works of sir Wil-
liam Dawes, hart." &c. 3 vols, 8vo, with a preface and
life, 1733, including- those published hy himself, viz.
1. " An Anatomy of Atheism," London, 1693, 4to, a poem,
dedicated to sir George Darcy, hart. This poem was writ-
ten by the author, before he was eighteen years of age.
2. " The Duties of the Closet," &c. written by him before
he was twenty-one years of age. 3. " The Duty of Com-
municating explained and enforced," &c. composed for
the use of his parish of Booking, in order to introduce a
monthly celebration of the Holy Communion ; which used
to he administered, before his coming thither, only at the
three great festivals of the year. 4. *' Sermons preached
upon several occasions before king William and queen
Anne," London, 1707, 8vo, dedicated to queen Anne.
5, He also drew up the preface to the works of Offspring
Blackall, D. D. late bishop of Exeter, London, 1723, foL
2 volumes.
On account of sir William Dawes's " Anatomy of
Atheism," Mr, Cibber has assigned him an article in his
♦' Lives of the Poets." But the worthy prelate had very
little title to be ranked in that catalogue. The piety of
his work is unquestionable, and it is probably not defective
^ in good sense ; but it has no claim to poetical excellence,
nor has it even the merit of harmonious versification.'
DAY, DA YE, or DAIE (John), a very eminent English
printer in the sixteenth century, was born in St. Peter's
parish, Dunwich, in Suffolk, and is supposed to have de-
scended from a good family in that county. From whom
he learned the art of printing, is not clear, unless perhaps
Gibson, one of v.'hose devices Da)' frequently used. He
first began printing about 1544, a little above Holborn
Conduit, and at that time was in conjunction with William
Seres, In 1549 he removed into Alderscrate-street, near
St. Anne's church, where he built a j)rinting-office, but
kept shops in various parts of the town, where his books
were sold. It would appear that he forbore printing dur-
ing the reign of queen Mary, yet continued improving
himself in the art, as was evident by his subsequent publi-
cations He was the first in England who printed the
Saxon letter, and brought that of Greek to great perfec-
tion, as well as the Italic and other characters, of which he
» Preface to his Works,— Biog. Brit.— NicoUon's Letters, vol. II. p, 473,
364 DAY.
had great variety. Archbishop Parker, who frequently
employed him, considered him as excelling his brethren in
skill and industry. He was the first person admitted into
the livery of the Stationers' company, after they obtained
their charter from Philip and Mary, was chosen warden in
1564, 1566, 1571, and 1575, and master in 1580. In 1583
he yielded up to the disposal of the company, for the re-
lief of their poor, his right to certain books and copies.
He died July 23, 1584, after having followed the business
of a printer with great reputation and success for forty
years, and was buried in the parish church of Bradley
Parva, in the count^^ of Suffolk, with a monument on which
are inlaid the effigies of him, his wife, and family, and
some lines, cut in the old English letter, intimating his
services in the cause of the reformation by his various pub-
lications, especially of Fox's Acts and Monuments; and
that he had two w.ves, and numerous children by both.
Besides Fox, he printed several valuable editions of the
Bible, of the works of the martyrs, of Ascham, and other
then accounted standard authors.*
DAY poHN), one of the sons of the preceding, was
born in his father's house in Aldersgate-street in 1566, and
entered a commoner of St. Alban's hall, Oxford, in 1582.
In 1583, being then B. A. he was elected a fellow of Oriel
college, took his master's degree, entered into holy orders,
and became a very favourite preacher in the university.
In the beginning of the reign of James I. with leave of his
college, he travelled for three years, improving himself in
learning and experience, and, as Wood tells us, " he vvas
about to say," in Calvinism. After his return he was made
vicar of St. Mary's in Oxford, in 1608, where his preach-
ing obtained him the general respect both of the university
and city. But being disappointed in the provostship of his
college in 1621, he left Oxford, and was beneficed at
Thurlovv in Suffolk, where he died 1627. Wood gives
him the character of a person of great reading, and ad-'
mirably versed in the fathers, schoolmen, and councils.
Hepublished: 1. " Twelve Sermons," 1615, 4to. 2. " Con-
ciones ad Clerum," Oxon. 1612 and 1615. 3. <' Day's
Dyall, or, his Twelve Howres, that is. Twelve severall lec-
tures by way of Catechisme, as they were delivered by
\nai in the chapel of Oriel college in Oxford, in the years
» Ames's Typographical Antiquities by Herbert, vol. I.^
DAY. 365
of our Lord God 1612 and 1613," Oxford, 1614. On the
title-page is a dial, and under it the quotation from St. John,
ii. 9. *' Are there not twelve hours in the day V 4. " Cum-
mentaries on the first eight Psalms of David," ibid. 16G.0,
4to. His brother, Lionel Day, was of BalUol ;itid Oriel
colleges, rector of Whichford, near Bt:i.'es in Warwick-
shire, where he died in 1640. He published a " Concio
adClerum."'
DAY' (Richard), another son of the celebrated printer,
and himself a printer, was educated at Eton school, and
in 1571 elected thence to King's college, Cambridge,
where he took his degree of M. A. and became fellow, and
being ordained, supplied the place of minister at Ryegate
in Surrey, in the room of the martyrologist. Fox. He af-
terwards appears to have turned his thoughts to his father's
trade, as he was called on the livery of the stationers'
company in 1578. He carried on business in his father's
house in Aldersgate-street, and had an exclusive privilege
jointly with him during their lives, and that of the longest
liver, to print the Psalms of David in metre. The books
he printed himself are dated from 1578 to 158 1, after
which his copies were printed by his assigns as far as 1597.
When he died is not known. He wrote some verses,
** Contra papistos incendiarios," in Fox's Martyrology, 1 576,
which Herbert informs us are omitted in the subsequent
editions. He translated Fox's " De Christo triumphante
comoedia," to which he wrote a preface, and two dedica-
tions ; one in the edition of 1579, to Mr, William Kyile-
grewe ; the other in the edition of 1607, to William lord
Howard, of Effingham. He wrote also a preface and
conclusion to the " Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs,'*
and a short Latin preface to P. Bavo's treatises " De
fide, &c." It was in this work that he first introduced
a typographical reform in the distinct use of the letters j
and i, v and u, which, however, did not generally take
place until the following century. *
DAY (Thomas), a poetical and miscellaneous writer, of
an eccentric character, was born in Wellclose-square, Lon-
don, June 22, 1748. His father was an officer in the cus-
'tom-house, and had been twice married. Tlvis son was the
issue of his second marriage to Miss Jane Bonham, the
onJy daughter of Samuel Bonham, esq. a merchant in the
» Ath. Ox. vol. I. * .'Vmes's Typographical Autiquities, by Herbert,
366 D A V.
city. His father died when he was little more than a yeaf
old, leaving him a fortune of 1200/. a year, including
300/. as a jointure to his mother, who in a few years mar-
ried Thomas Phillips, esq. another officer in the custom-
house. To this gentleman, who died in 1782, young Day
behaved witli decent respect, but felt no great attachment.
His mother, however, chiefly superintended his educa-
tion, and accustomed him early, we are told, to bodily
exertions, on whicli he afterwards set so high a value.
He was first put to a child's school at Stoke Newington,
and when admissible, was sent to the Charter-house, where
he resided in the house and under the instructions of Dr.
Crusius, until his sixteenth year. He now entered as a
gentleman commoner of Corpus college, Oxford, where
he remained tliree years, but left it without taking a degree.
As soon as he came of age, his property and conduct
devolved upon himself. At an early period of life, we
are told, he manifested a particular fondness for scrutiniz-
ing tile human character; and, as if such knowledge could
not be acquired at home, he took a journey in 1766 from
Oxford to Wales, that he might contemplate that class of
men who, " as still treading the unimproved paths of na-
ture, might be presumed to have the qualities of the mind
pure and unsophisticated by art." \Vhat of this descrip-
tion he found in Wales we are not informed ; but in pur-
suit of the same investigation of men and manners, he de-
termined, on coming of age, to go abroad ; and accord-
ingly he spent one winter at Paris, another at Avignon, and
a third at Lyons, a summer in the Austrian Netherlands,
and another in Holland. At Lyons, as every where else,
he was distinguished by his humanity and generosity, which
made his departure from those places be sincerely re-
gretted, and at Lyons produced an effect singularly cha-
racteristic of the class of people on whom he bestowed
his bounty. A large body of them assembled at his de-
parture, and very justly considering that they would now
be in a worse condition than if he had never relieved them,
requested that he would leave a sum of money behind for
their future wants. It is probable that these returns to hi*
imprudent liberality had a considerable share in producing .
the misanthropy which appeared in his future conduct.
He had already formed some very absurd notions of the
state of society in England, and had accustomed himself to
mistake the reveries of Housseau for the result of expe-
D A Y. 367
Tience. He bad been early rejected by a young lady to
whom he paid his addresses, and considering her as a fair
sample of her sex, despaired of finding among them a wife
such as he would chuse ; one that should have a taste for
literature and science, for moral and patriotic philosophy ;
fond of retirement '' from the infectious taint of human
society ;" simple as a mountain girl, in her dress, her diet,
and her manners; and fearless and intrepid as the Spartan
wives and Roman heroines. Observation soon taught him
that there was no such creature ready made, and he must -^
therefore mould some infant into the being his fancy had
imaged.
From a comparison of dates it appears to have been in
1769, when he came of age, that he formed this curious
project. Accompanied by a Mr. Bicknell, a barrister, ra-
ther older than himself, he went to Shrewsbury to explore
the Foundling hospital, and from these children, Mr. Day,
in tlie presence of Mr. Bicknell, selected two girls of
twelve years each; both beautiful: one fair, with flaxen
locks and light eyes, whom he called Lncretia ; the other,
a clear auburn brunette, with darker eyes, more glowing
bloom, and chesnut tresses, he called Sabrina. These
girls were obtainetl on written conditions, for the per-
formance of which Mr. Bicknell was guarantee. They
were to this effect : that Mr. Day should, within the twelve- -
month after taking them, resign one into tlie protection
of some respectal)le tradeswoman, giving one hundred
pounds to bind her apprentice ; maintaining her, if she
behaved well, till she married, or began business for her-
self. Upon either of these events he promised to advance
four hundred pounds more. He avowed his intention of
educating the girl he should retain, with a view to make
her his future wife : solemnly engaged never to violate her
innocence ; and if he should renounce his plan, to maintain
her decently in some creditable family till she married,
when he promised five hundred pounds as her wedding
portion. It would, probably, be quite unnecessary to make
any appeal to the feelmgs of parents, or to offer any re-
marks on the conduct of the governors of this hospital
respecting this strange bargain, for the particulars of which
we are indebted to Miss Seward. I'he narrative goes
on to inform us, that Mr. Day went instantly into Francfe
with these girls, not taking an English servant, that they
might regeive no ideas, e.Kcept those which himself might
368 DA Y.
chuse to impart, and which he soon found were not very
acceptable. His pupils teazed and perplexed him ; they
quarrelled ; they sickened of the small pox ; they chained
him to their bed-side, by crying if they were ever left
alone with any ]ierson who could not speak English.
Hence he was obliged to sit up with them many nights,
and to perform for them the lowest offices of assistance.
They lost no beauty, however, by their disease, and came
back with Mr. Day in eight months, when Sabrina was
become the favourite. He placed Lucretia with a chamber
milliner, and she afterwards became the wife of a linen-
draper in London. With Sabrina he actually proceeded
during some years, in the execution of his favourite pro-
ject ; but none of his experiments had the success he
wished. Her spirit could not be armed against the dread
of pain and the appearance of danger, a species of courage
which, with him, was a sine qua non in the character of a
wife. When he dropped melted sealing-wax upon her
arms, she did not endure it heroically; nor when he fired
pistols at her petticoats, which she believed to be charged
with balls, could she help starting aside, or suppress her
screams. When he tried her fidelity in secret-keeping, by
tellintr her of well- invented dangers to himself, in which
greater dansfer would result from its being discovered that
he was aware of them, he once or twice detected her hav-
ing imparted them tothe servants, and to her play-fellows.
He persisted, however, in these foolish experiments, and
sustained their continual disappointment during a whole
year's residence in the vicinity of Lichfield. The diffi-
culty seemed to be in giving her motive to self-exertion,
self-denial, and heroism. It was against his plan to draw
it from the usual sources, pecuniary reward, luxury, am-
bition, or vanity. His watchful cares had precluded all
knowledge of the value of money, the reputation of beauty,
and its concomitant desire of ornamented dress. The
only iuducement, therefore, which this girl could have to
combat and subdue the natural preference in youth of ease
to pain, and of vacant sport to the labour of thinking, was
the desire of pleasing her protector, though she knew not
how, or why he became such ; and in that desire fear had
greatly the ascendant of affection. At length, however,
he renounced all hopes of mouliling Sabrina into the being
which his disordered imagination had formed ; and, ceasing
now to behold her as a wife, placed her at a boarding-
iD A Y. 365^
sthool at Sutton Coldfield, Warwickshire, where, during
three years, she gained the esteem of her instructress,
grew feminine, elegant, and amiable. She is still living,
an ornament to the situation in which she is placed.
After this, Mr. Day paid his addresses to two sisters in
succession, both of whom rejected him. His appearance
and manners were indeed not much calculated to charm,
and the austere singularities of his sentiments, and the ca-»
prices of his temper, all which were parts of the system of
happiness he had formed to himself, were tolerable, even
by his friends, for a very short period. With the second
of these ladies, indeed, he was so enamoured as to tell her
that he would endeavour to acquire external refinements ;
but, finding- the progress he made insufficient to abate her
dislike, he returned to his accustomed plainness of garb
and neglect of his person ; and, notwithstanding these dis-
advantages, he found a lady, a Miss Milnes of Yorkshire,
then residing in London, to whom, after a singular court-
ship, he was united in 1778. The best part of his conduct
in this affair was his settling her whole fortune, which was
as large as his own, upon herself, totally out of his present
or future controul. What follows is of a less amiable com-
plexion. They retired soon after their marriage, first to
Stapleford Abbots in Essex, and afterwards to Anningsley,
near Chertsey, in Surrey. Here they had no carriage ;
no appointed servant about Mrs. Day's own person ; no
luxury of any sort. Music, in which she was a distin-
guished proficient, was deemed trivial. She banished her
harpsicliord and music books. Frequent experiments upon
her temper, and her attachment, were made by him whom
she lived but to obey and love. Over these, we are told,
she often wept, but never repined ; and no wife, bound in
the strictest fetters, as to the incapacity of claiming a se-
parate maintenance, ever made more absolute sacrifices to
the most imperious husband than did this lady, whose in-
dependence had been secured. SJie is even said to have
died broken-hearted for his loss, about two years after his
departure.
The whole of their residence at Anningsley, however,
was not passed in inflicting or tolerating caprice. Some of
Mr. Day's experiments were of a moie praiseworthy kind.
His neighbours of the lowest class, being as rough and as
wild as the commons on which they dwelt, he tried if b}*
mutual attrition he could not polish both ; and, though
Vol. XL B i;
370 D A Y.
the event fell short of his expectation, he was not wholly
tinsiiccessful. Many of the peasants he took to work on
his farm, and in his selection of them it was always his
object to accommodate those who could not find employ-
ment elsewhere, until they could meet with some fresh
job. But so fond were they of their new master, that they
wanted frequently to be reminded that their stay was only
intended to be temporary. During the winter season they
were so numerous, that it was scarcely in the power of a
farm of more than two hundred acres, of a family on the
spot, and of the contiguous neighbourhood, to raise for
them a shadow of employment from day to day. Mr.
Day, whenever he walked out, usually conversed with
them in the fields, and questioned them concerning their
families. To most of them, in their turn, he sent blankets,
corn, and butchers meat. He gave advice and medicines
to the sick, and occasionally brought them into his kitchen
to have their meals for a few weeks among the servants.
Once or twice he took them into his service in the house,
on the sole account of their bad health, a circumstance
which by many persons would have been deemed an ample
cause for dismission. When the cases of sickness which
came before him were diflScult and critical, he frequently
applied to London for regular advice; but good diet was
often found more salutary than all the materia medica.
Mrs. Day aided the benevolent exertions of her husband
by employing the neighbouring poor in knitting stockings,
which were occasionally distributed amongst the labourers.
Mr. Day's modes and habits of life were such as the
monotony of a rural retirement naturally brings upon a
man of ingenuity and literary taste. To his farm he gave
a personal attention, from the fondness which he had for
agriculture, and from its being a source to him of health
and amusement. It was an additional pleasure to him,
that hence was derived employment for the poor. He had
so high an opinion of the salutary effects of taking <xercise
on horseback, that he erected a riiling house for the pur-
pose of using that exercise in the roughest weather.
Though he commonly resided in the country during the
whole of the winter season, and was fond of sho(-ting as
an art, he for many years totally abstained from field
sports, apprehending them to be cruel ; but, at h^t, iioni
the same motive of humanity, he resumed the gun. He
rose about eight, and walked out into liis grounds soou
DAY. 371
after breakfast. But much of the morning, and still more
of the afternoon, were usually passed at liis studies, or ia
literary conversations when he was visited by his friends.
At length, Mr. Day, who suffered no species of controul
to interfere with whatever he fancied, or undertook, fell
a victim to a part of his own system. He thought highly
of the gratitude, generosity, and sensibility of horses;
and that whenever they were disobedient, unruly, or vi-
cious, it was owing to previous ill usage from men. Upon
his own plan therefore he reared, fed, and tamed a fa-
vourite foal, and when it was time it should become ser-
viceable, disdaining to employ a horse-breaker, he would
use it to the bit and the burthen himself. The animal,
however, disliking his new situation, heeded not the sooth-^
ing voice to which he had been accustomed, but plunged,
threw his master, and instantly killed him with a kick.
This melancholy accident happened on Sept. 28, 1789, aS
he was returning from Anningsley to his mother's house at
Bare-hill, where he had left Mrs. Day. He was interred
at Wargrave, in Berkshire, in a vault which had been built
for the family.
In the very flattering, and by no means just or discri-
minative, character of Mr. Day, given in the Biographia
Britannica, his life is represented to have been " one uni-
form system of exertions in the cause of humanity. He
thought nothing mis-spent or ill-bestowed, which contri-
buted, in any degree, to the general sum of happiness. In
his pursuit of knowledge, though he deemed it highly
valuable as a private and personal acquisition, he had a
particular view to the apphcation of it to the purposes of
philanthropy. It was to be able to do good to others, as
well as to gratify the ardent curiosity and activity of his
own mind, that he became an ingenious mechanic, a well-
informed chemist, a learned theoretical physician, and an
expert constitutional lawyer. But though his comprehen-
sive genius embraced almost the whole range of literature,
the subjects to vvliich he was the most attached, and which he
ret>^arded as the most eminently usetul, were those that are
comprehended in historical and ethical science. Indeed,
every thing was important in his eyes, not merely as it
tended to au\unce tiie individual, but in proportion to its
ability in disclosing the powers, and improving the general
interests, of the human species."
On this high character, after the facts we have exhibited,
B B 2
372 DAY.
it' will not be necessary to offer any remarks. As the
epitliet " constitutional lawyer" is here employed, it re-
mains to be mentioned, that he was admitted of the Middle
Temple in 1765, and called to the bar in 1779. Much of
this time, we have seen, elapsed in his travels, and pur-
suits "©f another kind ; nor, although his name rentained on
the books of the society, did he ever enter seriously into
the business of the profession. In polit*rcs he attached
himself to no party, properly so called ; he was neither
whig nor tory ; but joined many of the poipular associations
about the c-lose of the American war, to which he was a
decided opponent, and wrote some political pamphlets on
peace, reform of parliament, and other topics which agi-
tated the nation at that period.
His poetical talents, if not of the first rate^ evinced
considerable taste and elegance, but were not always
equally usefuliy employed. His first publication, *' The
Uying Negro," |)ublished in 1773, some part of which was
written by his friend Mr. Bicknell, contributed its share to
create that general abhorrence of the slave-trade which
ended at length in the abolition of a traffic so disgraceful
to the nation. His other poems were, " The Devoted Le-
gions," 1776, and " The Desolation of America," 1777,
both of the political cast. His prose effusions on national
affairs consist of " The Letters of Marius, or reflections
upon the Peace, the East India Bill, and the present crisis,'*
17a4; the "Fragment of a letter on the Slavery of the
Negroes," expressing his regret that the friends of free-
dom in America had not learned to share that blessing with
their slaves ; " A Dialogue between a justice of peace and
a farmer," 1785; and *' A Letter to Arthur Young, esq.
on the bill then depending in parliament to prevent the
Exportation of Wool," 1788.
The only works, however, which Mr. Day published
that are likely to prolong his name, are those upon edu-
cation. This was a subject in which we have already seen
he tried some bold and ridiculous experiments. His no-
tions, however, became at last more moderate, and his
schemes a little more practicable. He had a particular
diylike to the fashionable modes of education that prevail
in this country. Youth, he thought, should be inspired
with a hardy spirit, both of passive and active virtue, and
led to form such habits of industry and fortitude as Anuld
produce a manly independence of character, and a mind
D A Y. 373
superior to tlic enticements of luxurious indulgence. With
this view he wrote " Tiie History of Sandtbrd and Merton,"
12uio, a work intended for the use of children ; the first
volun^e of which appeared in 1783, the second in 1786,
and tii.e third in I78i). These soon acquired great |)opu-
larity, which is now on the decay. Tiiey are harudess at
least, and amusing, although ill accommodated to the ac-
tual state of manners. He ptd)lisl)ed also " The Histury
of little Jack," a story, the moral of which is this simple
truth, that " it is of very little consecjuence how a man
comes into the world, provided he behaves well, and dis-
cbarges his duty when he is in it." '
DEANE (Edmond), brother to the bishop of Ossory,
was born at Saltonstali, in Yorkshire, in 1572. At the ao-e
of nineteen he was entered of Mcirton collegre in Oxford,
and having continued tlieie, and at St. Aibau's hall, until
he was admitted doctor in medicine, he went and settled
at York. In 1626, he published, at London, " Spada-
crene Anglica, or the English Spaw Fountain," being a
brief treatise of the acid or tart tountain in the forest of
Knaresboroug.i, in Yorkshire. In a later edition, there
are accounts of other mineral waters found in the forest.
** Admiranda Chymica, Tractatulus, cum Figuris," Frank-
fort, 1630, 8vo, which has been several times reprinted.
Sam. Norton, Wood says, was esteemed half author of
this book, there being in it some of his tracts; as " Ca-
thL>licon physicorum," " Mercurius redivivus," dec. Deane
is supposed to have died about the time the civil wars broke
out, but m what year is not known."
DE BURE. See BURE.
DECEMBRIO (Peter Candide), a name of great cele-
brity in the literary history of the fifteenth ceTitury, was
born at Pavia in 1399. In his youth he was appointed
secretary to Philip- Maria Visconti, and after the death of
his master, while struggling for the liberties of the Mi-
lanese, Decembrio defended the same cause with ardour,
while there was any prospect of success; and when all
failed, he quitted Milan for Rome, where pope Nicholas
V. made him apostolical secretary. He returned to Milan
about twenty years afterwards, and died there in 1477.
According to the inscription on his monument, he com-
' Biog. Brit. — Miss Seward's Life of Dr. Darwin, p. 17 e» seqq.— See also
Ikliss Seward's Letters, vol. II. p. 330.
« Alb. Ox. vol. L— Watson's Hist. «f Halifax, p. 465.
374 D E C E M B R I O.
posed one hundred and twenty-seven works, but few of
these appear to be known. The two principal are the hves
of Philip-Maria Visconti, and Francis Sforza, both dukes
of Milan. Muratori has inserted them in his Script. Rer.
Ital. vol, XX. In the first he has imitated the style and
manner of Suetonius with considerable success. The se-
cond is in hexameter verse, but his facts are more interest-
ing than his poetry. His other printed works are treatises
on different subjects; Latin and Italian poems, several
translations, particularly of Appian and Q-uintus Curtius
into Italian, &c. It is much to be regretted that his Let-
ters, which are in several of the Italian libraries, have not
been published, as they might throw great light on the
literary and political history of his age.'
DECHALES (Claudius Francis Millet), an excel-
lent mathematician, mechanic, and astronomer, was born
at Chamberry, the capital of Savoy, in 1611; and de-
scended from a noble family, which had produced several
persons creditably distinguished in the church, the law, and
the army. He was a great master in all the parts of the
mathematics, and printed several books on that subject,
which were very well received. His principal performances
are, an edition of Euclid's Elements, where he has struck
out the unserviceable propositions, and annexed the use
to those he has preserved ; a discourse of fortification ;
and another of navigation. These performances, with
some others, were first collected into three volumes in
folio, under the title of " Mundus Mathematicus," com-
prising a very ample course of mathematics. The first
volume includes the first six books of Euclid, with the
eleventh and twelfth; an arithmetical tract ; Theodosius's
spherics ; trigonometry ; practical geometry ; mechanics ;
statics; universal geography; a discourse upon the load-
stone ; civil architecture, and the carpenter's art. The
second volume furnishes directions for stone-cutting ; mi-
litary architecture ; hydrostatics; a discourse of fountains
and rivers ; hydraulic machines, or contrivances for water-
works ; navigation ; optics ; perspective ; catoptrics, and
dioptrics. The third volume has in it a discourse of music ;
pyrotechnia, or the operations of fire and furnace ; a dis-
course of the use of the astrolabe; gnomonics, or the art
* Tiraboschi. — Ginguene Hist. Lit. d'ltalie. — Fabiic. Bibl, Lat. Med.—
Saxii Oaomast — Moreri,
D E C H A L E S. 375
of dialling ; astronomy ; a tract upon the calendar ; astro-
logy ; algebra; the method of indivisible and conic sec-
tions. Tiie best edition of this work is that of Lyons,
printed in 1690; which is more correct than the first, is
considerably enlarged, and makes four vols, in folio. De*
chales, though not abounding in discoveries of i)is own, it
yet allowed to have made a very good use of those of other
men, and to have drawn the several parts of the science
of mathematics together with gr^at clearness and judg-
ment. It is said also, that his probity was not interior to
his learning, and that both these qualities made him gene-
rally admired and beloved at Paris; where for four years
together he read public mathematical lectures in the col-
lege of Clermont. He then removed to Marseilles, -^vhere
he taught the art of navigation ; and afterwards became
professor of mathematics in the university of Turin, where
he died March 28, 1678, aged 67.'
DECIUS, or DKCIO (Philip), a jurist, who, according to
Tirabos. hi, attained greater fame during his lifetiian abler
men after their death, was born in 1453 at Milan, and is
said to have been the natural aon of one of the dukes of Mi-
lan, but this seems doubtful. He studied law at Pavia under
his brother Lancelot, who was professor in that university,
and on his removal to Pisa, Philip accompanied him, and
continued his studies under Barth. Socinus, Philip Cor-
neus, and others. In 1476 he received his doctor's decree,
and soon after was appointed one of the university profes^
sors, in which he distinguished hitnself by his art in dispu-
ting, which he appears to have practised with so little re-
spect for his seniors as to create him many enemies, and
render his life a life of contest with his brethren. In the
mean time his popularity was augmented by the respect
paid to him by kings and popes, of all which he was in full
enjoyment, when he died at Sienna in 1536. Of his works,
none of which appear to have perpetuated his fame, the
most considerable are his " Consilia," Venice, 1581, 2 vols,
fol.; and " De regulis juris," ibid. fol. '
DECKER, or DECKHKR (John), a pious and learned
Jesuit, was born about 1559, at Hazebruck in Flanders,
and taught philosophy and scholastic theology at Douay,
and afterwards at Louvain. He was then sent on an em-
bassy into Stiria, and became chancellor of the university
» Moreri & Diet. Hist, in Chales.
* CJcn. Diet.— Tiraboschi.— Moreii,— Dupin.— Saxii Onom»3t,
376 DECKER.
ofGratz, where he died in 1 6 19, aged 69. His principal
work treats of the year of the birth and of the death of
Christ. It is entitled, " Velificatio, seu theoremata de
?innp ortCis ac mortis Domini ; cum tabula chronographica,,
4 capta per Pumpeium lerosolyma, ad deletani a Tito
■urbem;'' Gratz, 1606, 4to. He was a man of profound
erudition, and had acquired great skill in chronology.'
DECKER (Thomas), a dramatic writer of very little
value, flourished in the reign of James I. The exact pe-
riods of his birth and decease are not ascertained ; but he
could not have died young, as his earliest play bears date
1600, and his latest 1637. Mr. Oldys thinks that he was
living in 1638, and that he was in the King's-bench prison
from 1613 to 1616, or longer. It is supposed he had ac-
quired reputation even in the time of queen Elizabeth,
whose decease and funeral he commemorates in his " Won-
derful Year," 1603. He was contemporary with Ben Jon-
son, with whom he quarrelled. Of this we have usually
had the following account : that ** Jonson, who certainly
could never ^bear a rival near the throne,' has, in his
♦ Poetaster,' the Dunciad of that author, among many
other ppets whom he has satirised, been peculiarly severe
on Decker, whom he has characterised under the name of
Crispinus. This compliment Decker has amply repaid in his
* Satyromastiijj, or the iintrussing a humourous Poet,' in
which, under the title of young Horace, he has made
Ben the hero of his piece." The provocation, however,
on the part of Jonson is completely overthrown by Mr.
Gilchrist, whose accurate research has established the fact
that the Crispinus of Jonson was not Pecker, but Marston,
In the Biog. Diamaticais a long list of forgotten plays by
Decker; and his " Gull's Horpbook," 9, scarce little tract
by him, was elegantly and cu^tflusly reprinted in 1813.^^
DE COURCY (Richard), vicar of St. Alkmond's parish,
Shrewsbury, was a native of Ireland, and descended from
a very ancient and respectable family in that country, being
distantly related to the family of lord Kinsale, to whom he
was ordained chaplain. He was educated at Trinity col-
lege, Dublin ; and his acquaintance with several eminent
clergymen brought him to England. In 1770 he accepted
the curacy of Shavvbury in Shropshire, of which the rev,
^ Moreri. — Foppcn Bibl. Belg.
9 Cibber's Lives.— Philips's Th^atrnm, new edit.— Warton's Hist, of Poetry j
see Index. — Preface to the new editioa of the Cfull's Hornbook,
D E C O U R C Y. 377
Mr. Stillingfleet was rector.